Your life summed up...Jesus knows what His grace and freedom will do in your lifeTherefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 2:1-2 Christian Standard  Sin has two rewards: condemnation and defeat. Condemnation has many faces, most facing down, most in quiet despair. Defeat is not victory. It ends with nothing, no hope, no joy, and worst of all, depleted love. When you face this monster on your own, and it is a monster, you quickly realize that it takes more than who you are or what possess to win this fight. It consumes and corrupts everything in touches. What remains after the fight is an exhausting surrender, and a spirit of give-up-and-give-in.  But suddenly a word emerges, Therefore, is God announcing that sin’s grip and claim of you has been shattered, nailed in reality. Therefore is God’s resounding truth reaching into the utter depths of your life. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The slates wiped clean. The words blameless, faultless, and spotless are written into all the old places, making everything new, even those spaces you thought could never be reached, let alone made whole. Jesus becomes the Condemned in your place. The One who is grace and truth exchanges your guilt and lies. Therefore is God telling you that in Christ, His beloved Son, you are His masterpiece on display in this fraudulent world. When the you hear the whisper ‘you really haven’t changed, ‘you can always go back to what you know’ or ‘you have to earn it to really be real’ … Therefore is all you have to say. Christ has set you free and no condemnation is really real. Is there a better way to live? It only takes a moment…