It's the Least That I Can Do

“It’s the least I can do. I mean he died on the cross for me.” I heard this statement the Easter of 2023 and it still comes to mind this day. It’s the least I can do… to attend church on Easter, to pray before a meal, to give to a charity, to read the Bible, and the list goes on and on.

That phrase bothers me. It is a lie I am all too familiar with. That I need to be a good Christian. I need to be Jesus. In my strength, I need to check the boxes. I believe Jesus came to free us from checking boxes.

Jesus died on the cross to free us from sin, which means to miss the mark. To break the barrier it had between us and God. To free us from the hold Satan had on our lives. The least we can do is accept the freedom given to us. Stop pushing aside what He so painfully and passionately fought for us to have.

When I mess up as a parent, the least I can do is receive His grace. The beauty is, that doing so results in so much more. It changes my mental state to peace versus frustration, selfishness, helplessness, etc. It allows me to parent from a good place instead of resulting in more ugly moments.

When I intend to read my Bible and don’t, the least I can do is fight off my self-condemnation and receive His grace. This gives me a hunger to read His word versus wanting to push Him away due to not feeling worthy.

I will never be perfect, as He was, on the earth. He never expected me to be. He fought, suffered, and died for my “miss the mark” moments. To free me from them and to live in me, helping me through them.

When I receive His mercy I also get His grace and am changed for the better every time. By receiving His mercy I become more like Jesus. I’m not implying that this is easy. It’s challenging for me to build/fight for this to become a habit. It’s hard sometimes to even have it on my radar, but it’s the least I can do.

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