Romans 8:1-8

Romans 8:1-8 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I remember someone once telling me about adopting former racing greyhounds.  They've been cooped up so long in pens and cages that they need a fence to serve as a barrier -- without it, they tremble at the sight of open spaces.  They're so accustomed to limitations that true freedom can be intimidating.
  In the same way, our minds wrestle with the freedom we've been given in Christ.  We're so accustomed to having to earn things, to be worthy or deserving of things, that the absolute freedom we have in Christ is hard for us to fathom.  Because of what Christ has done, and not because of what we have done, we are able to stand before the throne of grace and be accepted.  We struggle to wrap our minds around that truth, and so we spend our lives trying to earn God's love and fearful of God's wrath.  Our minds get focused on little things, all the while eternity stretches out before us, calling us forward in love and truth.
  Friend, you are covered in mercy.  Fix your mind on what Christ has done, and know that you are accepted as you are because of the transforming love of God.  All of those anxieties and fears can fall away -- receive the peace of the Spirit and walk in the light of unconditional love.