A Thought for the Day – 077 – Addendum
Mercy… God holding back from giving to us what we deserve.
Grace… God giving to us what we do not deserve. To the unbelieving this may
sound absurd, but to the believing it is Ephesians 2:4-5. This is where a
personal relationship begins when His Mercy and Grace takes our outstretched hand
of faith, as small as the mustard seed and leads us to His free gift of
salvation. Ephesians 2:1-10
Comments and challenges
Feeling the need to
clarify positional truth I would like to spend some time looking at the
Ephesian passage above. A long time ago; in the summer months of growing up I used
to caddy at a golf course in Louisville, Kentucky. I believe the name of that
course at the time was called Seneca Golf Course. This would have been in the
early nineteen fifties. This was more than a summer job for me, my parents had
very little money and most of all the income I gained was given to them in
order help the family during those years.
I had regular people
who I caddied for and one foursome of professional men played every Thursday
morning, I carried doubles (two bags) in those days and one of the men owned a
shoe store in downtown Louisville. One day he said to me, “son I see you’ve
been wearing those shoes all season, you are about ready to walk out of them
and you need to buy another pair”. “We can’t afford that” was my response and I
am sure there was more conversation about meeting that need.
The following week
before we teed off, the man handed me a brand new pair of shoes, nice sneakers
also a pair of dress shoes. (I had a need for new shoes, but this of itself was
not justification to have new shoes) This was a gift, a free gift a gift that
sits in mind as one of those events in my past that shines like a shining
light, one of those unforgettable moments. I know that you have those moments
too and these times should be looked at from time to time since these do more
than help us see that humans do good things. These events in life also parallel
the work of God when the free gift of justification is presented to the
unjustified.
We do not deserve
Justification, we are sinners (don’t make light of being a sinner) God is not a
sinner! For Him to have a relationship with you or me, He must do for us things
that we cannot do on our own. Earlier in Ephesians One; the apostle Paul lists
fifteen or more Spiritual attributes that is given to each believer in Jesus
Christ. So this is what I see from Ephesians 1:13. What did we do? We did as
the apostles and believers before us did. We believed, we trusted the gospel
message, in believing, God provides the final complement. He seals us with the
Holy Spirit.
This for me is more
than I can stand and causes tears of joy causing me to say; like I said to the
man with the shoes. “Oh thank you sir” in place of “sir” my heart cries “Oh
thank You Father” and here is why. Being sealed with God the Holy Spirit means
that God has given me a part of eternity, like an installment of the fullness
to come, even knowing that I am now adopted into the family of God. Romans
8:12-17.
So do not sit on your
laurels in some religion thinking that all is well, Solomon has a lot to say
about the slug who desires but has nothing; Proverbs 13:4. To be justified by
God, the only one thing a person must do is believe and God will do the rest;
Acts 16:28-31.
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