Dear Friends,
Coming home from the office a few days ago, I was invited by my seven-year-old son, David, to relax for a few minutes on the sofa. He said he could tell I'd had a "stressful day" (his words). After asking a few questions about the pressures I faced, he started to tell me about his pressures—being on his best behavior at friends' homes and trying extra hard at school to win the student-of-the-month award. "Being good all the time is very stressful, Dad," he said. Then he cautioned me, "I need a break, but I promise not to be really bad."
Home is a place where you don't have to try hard to impress anyone—or it should be that way. I don't mean to say that we forget manners, discipline, and respectful behavior, but I want my home to be a place where no one has to worry about being himself. David needs a place to move and make noise and even to make mistakes.
My son's comments made me consider how wonderful it would be if we Christians would do a better job of extending an atmosphere of acceptance not only within our homes but also beyond them in our work and worship places. Why don't we? One reason may be that we fear falling off the balance beam of GRACE and landing on the "license" side. Perhaps we fear that accepting each other with all our imperfections and weaknesses means condoning sin or relinquishing responsibility for character growth. It doesn't.
When Jesus sets us free from sin's penalty and stranglehold, He empowers us (by His Spirit) to grow in Christlikeness—but not to become angels or gods or anything other than humans. Life would be a lot less stressful for my family, friends, staff, and volunteers if they could believe I value them just as much after discovering their faults, failures, and imperfections as before. What if I would treat myself that way? Just as Christ has set me free, I want to set others (and myself) free from hiding, free from the burden of being "good enough" to win my approval, and I ask you to set me free, too. Imagine the stress reduction we could all experience. I'm asking God to help me—and you—to take new steps of growth in this direction.
Sincerely,
Hugh Ross
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