3/18/17
Tim and Brenda Lyons
Romans 3:19-31
As Christians, we know we are expected to give, and we do. We give our time to church ministries, we tithe, and so forth. We can be counted upon to help out. We typically derive great satisfaction from these things, and we sometimes witness the tangible results of our efforts. We may even pat ourselves on the back a little bit for our contributions to the furthering of God’s kingdom. We’re happy to give!
But there’s a certain pride involved in giving that can cause us to miss the mark. We must always realize that we cannot earn anything from God through our own efforts. We thank God for giving us all that he has blessed us with – and for many of us, that is considerable – and sometimes we may be tempted to think that we are deserving. But accepting the truth about God’s grace is more difficult. Regardless of our good works, there is nothing that we can do to earn God’s salvation. We are saved only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In this regard, we are no different than the world’s worst sinner. As long as we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are “working our way into the Kingdom”, God cannot help us. It is only when we approach God in humility and completely surrender our hearts to His will can we receive the gift of His grace, life eternal in God’s Kingdom.
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the blessings that you have given me and continue to provide each day. Help me to put aside my will and humbly accept the greatest blessing you offer, the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thought for the Day: “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” Louis Nizer