Rule Follower

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

A while back I was reading a devotional by Lysa TerKeurst where she wrote, “Following the rules and following Jesus are two totally different things.” Once I read that statement, I immediately wished I had read it ten, fifteen, or even twenty years earlier.

Growing up, I was the epitome of a rule follower. If there was a rule in place, I would follow it to a T, no exception. I was always home by curfew. I did my chores at home. I used my manners. And I would only cross the street when the blinking sign told me I could, even if there was not a car in sight. 

But looking back now, my motivation for following the rules wasn’t the best. I was going by the book just for the sake of going by the book. I liked the title of rule follower, not to mention the affirmation that came with it. 

Before long, I started to have the same legalistic perspective when it came to my faith. I thought that if I obeyed God and did what He said in His Word, then things were going to go well for me. Not to mention He would be proud of me for being such an obedient child of His. 

Then one day, one of my sweet mentors told me something that rocked my rule-following world. She said, “Kristen, there is nothing you can do that will make God love you any less, and there’s nothing you can do that will make God love you any more.” 

Talk about shocking. I had been convincing myself all this time that by trying to always do the right thing, go by the book, and be a good girl, I was earning more of God’s love. But that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, God didn’t love me an ounce more from the time I accepted Him as my Savior when I was five-years-old, to this very moment. By His grace alone, He saved me, He chose me, and He loves me unconditionally, regardless of how many rules I follow or break. 

So with that in mind I want to encourage you with the same truth my mentor told me: there is absolutely nothing you can do, good or bad, that will make God love you any less or any more. If you’ve made a huge mistake, your Heavenly Father still loves you just as much as He always has. And if you’ve been obedient and tried to follow all the rules, He loves you just the same as if you had broken every commandment He’s ever given. You can’t earn His love. It is a gift He gives unconditionally, not according to merit. My prayer is that you will rest in that, be grateful for that, and live in the freedom of that truth today and moving forward.