by Matt Chandler
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15

Honestly, I don’t struggle much with wondering if God forgives me, but I do still consistently have to preach the gospel to myself to believe that He likes me right now. Do you know what I mean? It’s easy to believe He likes Matt Chandler ten years from now. After some sanctification, that dude is going to be legit. But the Matt Chandler of today? Sometimes I think God loves me and is just kind of patient with me. He’s just sort of tolerating me until I grow up a little more. But there’s certainly no delight in Him toward me. There is no gladness of heart over my being one of His adopted sons.
Romans 8:15–17 is going to help us a bit with this kind of thinking. When God called you and justified you, He called you out of one of four big traps of spiritual slavery.
First, you had bought into the lie that a better version of you was going to solve all your problems. A better version of you, a wealthier version, a more disciplined version, a more fit version—these are lies. Setting our hearts there is like running on a treadmill all the days of your life. Running and running and going nowhere.
Second, you got rescued out of the slavery of wanting other people to validate you. And few things are as life-sucking and soul-crushing as needing others to validate you.
Third, you got rescued from the lures of the world, from the lie that what you need is more of what you already have, even though that hasn’t satisfied you.
And fourth, He rescued you from religion itself. And religion is a funny one, because it’s trying to tip scales that don’t even exist. Works-based religion is a mirage.
All of these attempts at becoming “a better you” are anti-gospel. I don’t know why we try to pretend we’re more than we are. Jesus didn’t die for some better version of us; those people don’t even exist. He died for us, as we are.

Thought to Remember for Today

I will buy into the lie that just a better version of me will solve some of what I’m feeling. But God loves the real me, and Jesus died for the real me—and the real you. And He has given us His Spirit to keep delivering us from these traps we keep falling into and back into the loving, forgiving arms of the Father.

Fitzpatrick, E. (2016). Grace untamed: a 60-day devotional. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.