Do You Understand The Real Need For Grace In Any Good Work?
Good Morning Friends,
At some point we figure out that events are not as random as we might believe. It is then, only as the events in our lives connect, do we discover the real pattern, the real purpose. Hopefully the light comes on so our time here for glorifying God is not wasted. Do You Understand The Real Need For Grace In Any Good Work?
Scripture: I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
Psalm 130:5 (NRSV)
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved– and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God– not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV)
Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
Matthew 20:10-15 (NRSV)
Message: To subsist in the world we are taught that there is no free lunch. We are taught, in this small thinking, to demand our rights and to get what we pay for. The problem with this is that, more often than not, we will discover we cannot make it on our own. We need the Creator’s grace to even exist but it does not stop there. We need the grace of others too. Grace is needed to save us more times than we realize. The amazing thing is that grace can even lead us in doing good works for others that will encourage them in the faith. Grace is the best ministry gift we as Christians can give because it is the best gift we have ever received. Sure sometimes there is needed a little tough love, but even behind that is grace. It is so easy to walk away. For those in need will sometimes nudge that reality into being a test of our love. But if we have received true grace then we will come alive in Christ and we cannot help but be gracious in loving others as we have been loved. If we fail here we probably never really accepted the transformation of grace in the first place. The important lesson to learn is that the grace we receive needs to be passed on… as C.S. Lewis points out, “we need to forgive the inexcusable acts of others because He has forgiven the inexcusable in us.” That is the labor of our lives, but not something for which we can take credit. This good work of doing good things is a result of our salvation not the cause of it. Still we need to share the overabundance of grace that Christ has made available to us in our life. We cannot use it all. To horde it away is insane. The world hungers for it. The odd thing is that we have been taught in this world to reject it. We have been taught to beware of Greeks bearing gifts for our emotions may not be able to discriminate between their definitions of love. We have been taught from an early age that you get what you pay for, but that is not the case with grace and it is not the case with true love. We are engrained with the idea that the harder we work the more we receive, but that is not what Jesus taught. Often we get what we do not deserve or earn. It is human nature to think that we can gain God’s love based on how we respond to Him, but that is not the case with grace in our lives. So as you enjoy the blessings, of grace in your life, in your business and family know that when you pass on this grace you are only an instrument in the hand of God who rejoices in your eager efforts. The world needs grace more than we can know.
Pray that Christ’s saving grace comes alive in our lives. Pray we reorganize our thinking and start looking for and anticipating God in our lives. Pray we begin to see history through the eyes of grace. Pray that God make obvious to us what was hidden. Pray we know that God loves us. Pray we realize that we cannot stand without Him. Pray we place our trust wisely. Pray we realize that we cannot live without God’s help. Pray we realize that God forgives even when we can do nothing but watch Him meet our real needs. Pray we receive God’s grace and eagerly share it with others in all we do. Pray we are prepared to give up something good for something very good. Pray that we embrace the change that is required and find the reward in the promises of God that we live abundantly.
Pray we give thanks that life is not fair. Pray that we are content with what God gives us. Pray that we seek the Kingdom first, that grace not be so hard to believe, so hard to accept, so hard to receive and so hard to share. Pray that we are not envious about the grace given to others. Pray that we learn to share the overabundance of grace that Christ has made available to us in our life. Pray we experience amazing grace in our daily lives. Pray grace falls at our feet needing to be shared before the moment is lost.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 