From Shame to Freedom

The religious people of Jesus' day laid heavy weights on people, not lifting a finger to help them. They pointed their fingers. They complained. They judged. They criticized. They looked for the wrong. They saw themselves as the religion police. That’s what religion does. Religion says, “Come and work for your salvation.” And it will never be enough. There will be no end to your work. You will always feel like you don’t measure up. You will always feel like there is someone looking at you critically telling you that you are not good enough. Nobody will accept you. Jesus says exactly the opposite. He calls out to us, not to lay heavy weights of guilt and shame on us for not measuring up, but exactly the opposite. He wants to take off those weights we’ve carried all our lives. He wants to set us free. And then once we are free, he wants to use us to help others find freedom. That is why he came. We get to be a part of that.