The day I Stood UP!

I giggle silently on the inside because I already know what the title of this post will be.  Let me tell you about the day I stood up.  This is the moment where you shake your head in confusion and I burst into laughter.  If you know me you already know  I was born with Cerebral Palsy and have not physically stood entirely on my own without support from the time I was born ever.  In my years prior to surgeries to rebuild my hip sockets due to pain, I could stand in a stander with belts or with the help of physical therapists I could transfer at least in elementary school to the toilet, chair, or floor mat.  No, for those wondering cp itself is NOT a progressive disorder  Those days didn't last long as I lost a ton of mobility after both hip surgeries, but it got rid of my pain, but my lack of mobility, resulted in brittle bones.  In high school, one of my teacher's and I joked, we could tie me to a rope, tell everyone I was standing and sell tickets.

      While I may not be able to stand physically. My title, you will find out is true.   Over the last few months, I have accepted the realization I can stand in the righteousness of Christ, and more than anything this is why the reality of Easter means so much to me personally.  The more I dwell upon the unshakable truth that I don't have to strive for approval and acceptance of God, the freer I  become to give him glory and share the gospel and its hope with those I encounter.  Jesus didn't just take the punishment of death for Peter, or Paul or Timothy, or Billy Graham.  He took all my not good enough, every bad thought, every foul word, ever lie I've ever told, every hint of bitterness my soul contained and He paid the price sentenced to death for my bad attitudes, my pride, my woe is me pity parties, my unkind intentions so that I could not  only approach the perfect  living God, and live in eternal bliss and awe with him, but so I could talk to him about my deepest fears, and the joy of my heart.  Somewhere along the way, Jesus has not only become my bridge for a painless afterlife, He is becoming my right now, everyday life Sustainer!    I am so grateful for the promise of Heaven with God, but my heart is far more satisfied with the truth that I can praise him now!  I can lean on him now.  I can ask for, and receive forgiveness today, not just tomorrow or some future time to come, but right now in the present, and still know it cannot run out or become stale.
I'm not a robe wearing kind of person, because of my seating arrangements, but I love the feel and look of a nice robe.  Jesus wore and bore my sin, as well as the sin of humanity.  He knew the weight of being condemned and shamed.  He provided a necessary all be it an unfair divine exchange.  He took my sin, and in exchange clothed me in HIS own righteousness.  He tasted defeat so that I can taste victory!  see Isa. 53
  Just as I can't physically stand up. It is not possible to through my own ability or effort to have a right relationship with God, and to stand in the righteousness of God in Christ.  self-righteousness is an illusion.  It is rooted in the deception that we are the standard and the assumption that we are the ones who define what is right.  Oh, what joy and transformation have occurred in my heart, as I learn to stand and be clothed in the righteousness of Christ himself.  After years of self-loathing. though I'm still being transformed, I truly am standing!  Are you standing?  Maybe though you have physically stood your whole life, you truly have never understood who Christ has made you into and is still shaping you into.- spiritually speaking,   For years, though I accepted Christ for eternal life, the new identity piece never clicked it never made sense to me.   Slowly it is as if my eyes can now see what my pride refused to embrace.  What would it look like to stand in the truth of what Christ has given you through His death and resurrection?  Stand in it.  Be clothed in Christ's righteousness!  "God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 cor 5:21   "I  am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels." Isa. 61:10 NLT