A Life That Counts
2 Timothy 2:20-21 reads, “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (NIV, 1984).
I enjoy reading Christian biography—biographies of men and women who made a difference for God in this world. Biographies of people like Amy Carmichael who served God for 56 years in India without a furlough. People like Hudson Taylor who, in spite of his physical weakness, was used by God to take the gospel to millions of people in China. Or people like William Wilberforce, who at the end of the 18th century, struggled for more than 20 years to bring an end to the slave trade in England. Reading the stories of such men and women creates a longing within me to be useful to God like they were. Which raises a question—what kind of people does God use? What must we do—who must we be—if we want to make an eternal difference in the lives of those around us?
2 Timothy 2:19-22 answers that question. In order to be useful to God, we must pursue holiness. While living in the world, we must not be of the world (John 17:14-19). In verse 19, Paul writes, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” In verse 22, Paul reminds Timothy that being useful to God will require him to “…flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” In verses 20-21 Paul contrasts those who, through their pursuit of holiness, make themselves useful to God with those who, by their spiritual apathy and sin, render themselves unproductive in his saving work. Those who willfully refuse to “depart from iniquity” are compared to a household vessel useful only as a toilet. In contrast, the believer who cleanses himself of sin is like a household vessel made of gold or silver useful to the Master for honorable purposes!
So, what about you and me? Do we hunger to live lives that count for God? Does it show by the way we live our lives? In this life we will never be perfect. Still, do we pursue holiness? In the power of God’s Spirit, do we strive to cleanse ourselves of all that is sinful and dishonorable? Do we make ourselves useful and available to God by the things we value, the way we think, and the choices we make? How can we be useful to God in the world if we are not distinct from the world?
One thing is certain. We will never be vessels “useful to the Master of the house, ready for every good work” without each other. Verse 22 is clear! When we pursue the “righteousness, faith, love, and peace” that makes us useful to God, we must do so “along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” God cannot and will not make us clean vessels useful to him in isolation from each other. We must invest ourselves in the fellowship of His church! By God’s design we will never grow up in Christ if we do not grow up together (Ephesians 4:15-16).
Every human heart cries out for significance. Every one of us wants to live a life that counts! No life counts more than a life lived for God. Let us strive together to be vessels useful to our Master for every good work. Let us strive together to live lives that count for God.
A Living Sacrifice
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV 1984)
Romans 12:1-2 represents a major turning point in the book of Romans. With these verses, the apostle Paul moves from explanation to application. In the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul has focused on explaining the gospel. Paul has revealed how hopelessly lost we are apart from Christ. But here’s the good news! God has not left us to ourselves. In Romans 5:8, Paul declares that God “demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, God offers us forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus because, on the cross, Jesus absorbed the Father’s wrath—the wrath we deserved. By means of the cross, God justifies (declares “not guilty”) all who trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But that’s only the beginning. According to Paul’s gospel, God not only delivers believers from the penalty of sin, he also delivers us from the power of sin (see Romans 6:14-22). Then, in Romans 8:29-30, Paul explains how God’s gospel secures our eternity with him! God finishes what he begins. Those he predestines he calls. Those he calls he justifies. Those he justifies he also glorifies. Not one of his children will be lost along the way.
Now, having explained the wonders of God’s gospel (Romans 1-11), the apostle turns to application. Here in Romans 12:1-2 Paul defines our only proper response to God’s gospel. Filled with a wondrous sense of gratitude for God’s grace, Paul declares that our only proper response to salvation through faith in Christ is to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God”!
So what does that mean? First, to present your body as a sacrifice to God represents the offering of your whole self—nothing held back! God does not offer us the option of compartmentalizing our lives. For believers there can be no division between “sacred” and “secular”. In Christ, nothing is secular. All is sacred. In response to God’s mercy you must offer up your career. Likewise, your pastimes, your recreation, your sexuality, your marriage, your family, your friendships must all be laid on the altar for God. In other words, properly responding to God grace towards us in Christ means joyfully and gratefully presenting all that we are and all that we do as an offering to the One who first offered himself for us.
But notice, offering our whole selves as a living sacrifice to God is not a one-time event. Paul says we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice is the sacrifice of a life that keeps on serving and keeps on submitting to God. So many speak of their willingness to die for God. How many are willing to persevere in this world by fully devoting themselves to God one day at a time.
Finally, Paul says we must offer ourselves to God not only as a living sacrifice but also as a holy sacrifice. To be holy is to be “set apart” for God and his purposes. Offering yourself as a holy sacrifice means constantly making the choice to set yourself apart from habitual sin for the sake of being useful to God. Offering yourself as a holy sacrifice means you can’t think like the world thinks, act like the world acts, or value what the world values. Only then will your light shine in the darkness.
So how do we do it? How do we joyfully and gratefully offer up our bodies as living and holy sacrifices to God? In verse 2, Paul tells us we must consciously and consistently decide to “not be conformed to this world.” Rather, we must always be choosing to be “transformed” by the “renewing of our minds.” This we must do in the strength of God’s Spirit and by means of God’s word, prayer, and the fellowship of God’s people.
This really isn’t rocket science. If we invest the bulk of our lives in reading this world’s books, watching this world’s movies, concerning ourselves with this world’s opinions, pursuing this world’s goals—guess what we’ll end up being conformed to? This world! But, if we invest ourselves in God’s word, prayer, and God’s people we will discern God’s will and know what is pleasing and acceptable to him. Then our lives will be a living and holy sacrifice to God and our joy will be complete.
Dealing With Anxiety
In Matthew 6:26 Jesus tells his disciples, “…do not worry about your life.” This isn’t friendly advice. It’s a command. In Luke 21:34 Jesus warns these same disciples about the consequences of being unprepared for his return at the end of the age. He cautions them, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.”
No believer wants to be caught flat-footed at Christ’s coming! We all know it wouldn’t be good for Jesus to find us carousing—that is living a careless party-focused life—when he comes again. In the same way, no professing Christian wants to give account for a life marked by drunkenness or addiction. These things are obvious. But did you notice the third sinful lifestyle Jesus warns against? Not only must we take care to ensure our lives are not “weighed down” by carousing or drunkenness—we must take care to ensure our lives are not weighed down by the anxieties of life! We must guard against the sin of worry!
When you think about being ready for Christ’s coming, how often does gaining victory over worry enter your mind? Carousing? Yes. Drunkenness? Of course. Sexual immorality? No Christian would deny the importance of dealing with that. But worry? It’s probably not at the top of your “sin list.” But there it is! Jesus says that when he comes again, he doesn’t want to find us being weighed down by the “anxieties of life”! And that only makes sense. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Since worry and faith are mutually exclusive, it’s no wonder Jesus demands that worry be set aside. But overcoming worry is no easy task. In fact, in our own strength, it’s an impossible calling. In this world there’s simply too much to worry about—broken relationships, health, job security, bills to pay, children late coming home, rising crime, government scandals, the economy, and more!
So how do we do it? How do we go about “casting all our anxieties” on God (1 Peter 5:7)? We find our answer in Philippians 4:6-7. We properly deal with our anxieties by looking to God. In the strength of his Spirit, we conquer worry with prayer. Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (NIV).
How do we overcome worry? We make a habit of telling our concerns to God in prayer. Do you believe that God doesn’t want you to carry your own burdens? Do you believe that God wants to carry those burdens for you? Do you know why 1 Peter 5:7 instructs us to cast our anxieties on God? Answer: “…Because he cares for you.” Do you believe that? I mean, do you REALLY believe that God cares for you—that he’s involved in the details of your life? If not, you’ll probably find yourself worrying more than praying.
But Philippians 4:6-7, Paul not only tells us that we ought to pray when we’re anxious. Paul tells us how to pray when we’re anxious. First, we should pray expansively. We should pray about “anything” and “everything” that concerns us! If we are anxious, nothing is too big. Nothing is too small. Second, we should pray specifically. We should ask God to intervene as he sees fit by making specific requests concerning our circumstances. And finally, instead of worrying, we must pray about our concerns with thanksgiving. While we cannot thank God for every circumstance in our life, we can always thank him for his sovereignty and his promise to “work all things together for our good” (Romans 8:28-29). More than that, we can thank God for the privilege of prayer itself! Dare we take for granted the invitation God extends to live in relationship with him and to bring our every concern to him—and to know that he hears us?
In a world full of injustice, sin, and the consequences of our own failures, our path to the peace that “surpasses all understanding” is prayer. For biblical examples of the power of this kind of praying see Daniel 9:1-19; Nehemiah 1:4-11; and Acts 4:23-31.
God’s Line in the Sand
I’m a college football fan. I root for two teams—Oklahoma State and Utah. For years I never had to choose between the two. They were in different conferences. They never played each other. Until they did. When conference realignment happened, they both ended up in the Big 12. Then I knew—there comes a time in life when you have to choose. I chose my Alma Mater, Oklahoma State. And, of course, Utah won.
Here’s the good news. Choosing a football team to root for isn’t a destiny-defining decision. Who wins or loses has no eternal bearing on our lives. But Christmas does! Having just celebrated the birth of Christ we need to remember that. Christmas is a line God draws in the sand. The Word become flesh—God become man—forces each of us to choose. What will we do with Jesus? How will we respond to him?
The story of the Magi (Matthew 2) reveals three options. Like Herod, we can actively resist Jesus (see verses 13-16). This, of course, is insanity. Jesus is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Those who resist him are destined to perish. But open resistance isn’t the only condemnable response to Christ’s coming at Christmas. We can also choose apathy. Apathy was the response of the chief priests, religious teachers, and people of Jerusalem. There’s no indication any of them openly resisted Jesus. They simply ignored him. They knew their Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. But when the Magi informed them of his arrival, no one seemed interested in taking the six-mile trip to welcome him (see Matthew 2:1-6).
It’s the Magi who model the only proper response to the birth of “God with us”. Worship! In Matthew 2:1-2 we read, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”
But what does genuine worship look like. In the example of the Magi we discover that genuine worship of Jesus is first marked by intentionality. We are fallen people. Worshiping anyone other than ourselves doesn’t come naturally. There’s a price to be paid—a commitment to be made.
The Magi were likely in Persia when they saw the star that announced Christ’s birth. I suppose they could have stayed home, sang a few songs, said a few prayers—and then gone out for a bite to eat. But for them, that wasn’t enough. The Magi had been looking for that star a long time. Hundreds of years before, it seems men like Daniel had told the Persians about the coming King. So, when the Magi saw his star, their hearts compelled them to find him. They had to see him for themselves. They longed to bow in his presence. That’s why they procured their supplies, loaded their camels, and set out on a six-to-eight-hundred-mile expedition across the desert in search of the newborn King.
They were intentional. For months on end, the Magi ordered their schedule, expended their energy, and invested their resources for the sake of genuine worship. Do we do the same? Are we intentional in our pursuit of an ever-deepening relationship with Christ through prayer, God’s Word, and the fellowship of other believers?
Of course, along with intentionality, genuine worship requires submission. Matthew 2:11 reads, “On coming to the house, they (the Magi) saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and incense and of myrrh.
Can you picture the scene? The Magi were powerful men. They were the royal priests of Persia. They played a significant role in choosing kings. And here we find them, bowing down to a toddler in a diaper—laying their treasures at his feet—acknowledging him as Lord. Have you done the same? Do you acknowledge Christ, not only as Savior, but also as Lord? Is your life marked by submission to him?
That said, let me ask: Is genuine worship a dutiful, humorless task? Is God’s call to intentionality and submission burdensome? I’ll let the Magi answer the question. In Matthew 2:9-10. We read, “After they had heard the king (that is King Herod), they (the Magi) went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were…” What? “When they saw the star they were overjoyed.”
Don’t miss it! In the end, choosing worship is choosing joy! Whatever their sacrifice, once in the presence of their King, the Magi would have gladly sacrificed more. Never forget! Choosing worship is choosing forgiveness and life. Choosing worship is choosing reconciliation and friendship with God. Forever. What could be better than that?
On the first Christmas God drew his line in the sand. On Christmas, the Word became flesh! And now we must choose. What will you do with Jesus? Resist him like Herod? Ignore him like all Jerusalem? Or worship him like the Magi? Choose wisely. Your decision determines your destiny.
Thanks for reading. If you have questions or comments contact me at deanpshriver@gmail.com.
Why Jesus Came
Today we celebrate the birth of Christ. During the past few weeks we’ve drawn from the Christmas story as told by Luke and Matthew. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the Christmas story as told by John. In John 1:1-3 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” In verse 14 John continues, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This is how John describes the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem.
On this Christmas Day, it will be good to stop and ponder John’s account. “In the beginning…” That means before the mountains rose, before the oceans roared, before the stars were spread across the sky, before our planet teemed with life, or even existed—"in the beginning was the Word. He lives from everlasting to everlasting. Next John adds, “And the Word was with God…” He lives in eternal fellowship with the Father. But there’s more. John continues, "the Word was God”! The “Word” himself is Maker of all things and giver of all life. And only when we remember that can we appreciate how seemingly absurd the statement of verse 14 really is. There John writes, “And the Word became flesh… Stop. Think about that. The Word who is God entered fully into our world. He became human like we are human. The infinite, sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent God was born a baby—wholly dependent and helpless. In Christ, God walked where we walk. In Christ, God felt like we feel. In Christ, God got tempted like we get tempted—although without sin. And most unfathomably, in Christ, God died a physical death like we die.
Which leads to the obvious question—so what? It’s a nice story, but what difference does the “Word become flesh” make for you? For me? For our world? Why do we bother celebrating the physical birth of God in Christ? The fact that the Word became flesh means nothing until we understand why the Word became flesh! Why did our Creator become creaturely? Why did the King of Kings leave heaven, where He is continually worshiped, and come to earth where He is continually despised? Nowhere is that question more clearly answered than in 1 Timothy 1:15. There Paul writes simply, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world—that is, the Word became flesh—to save sinners…”
This is the good news of Christmas. John further explains, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (the atonement) for our sins.
Have you made the good news of Christmas good news for you? Have you let “the Word become flesh” save you from your sin? By his grace have you acknowledged your sin and repented by entrusting yourself to Jesus as Lord and Savior? If so, rejoice! If not, why not make this Christmas Day the day of your salvation?
The Fear That Leads to Life
Luke’s record of Christ’s birth is understated. It goes like this: “The time came for Mary to give birth. Mary gave birth. Mary wrapped her son in a blanket. Mary put her son down for a nap” (See Luke 2:6-7). Frankly, it’s a bit pedestrian. The Maker of Heaven and Earth becomes human and that’s all we get? But if Luke’s record of the incarnation is understated, it’s only because the event of Christ’s birth was understated too. By God’s design, the birth of Creation’s King took place in an animal stall in an insignificant town called Bethlehem in an occupied territory called Palestine. Predictably, no one noticed.
Or should I say, almost no one noticed. There was a group of working stiffs pulling the night shift just outside of town. They noticed. And it wasn’t because they were spiritually sensitive or more astute than the rest of humanity! They noticed Christ’s birth because God made not noticing impossible.
In Luke 2:8-11we read, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
While our first two Christmas angels came to Mary and Joseph to tell them what would happen, our third angel came to tell shepherds what had happened, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” That’s good news! But, as we’ll see, the coming of a Savior is only good news for those who understand that a Savior is what they need!
Consider the shepherds’ response to the angel’s explosive arrival. Luke says, “they were filled with fear”. The jarring brightness of “the glory of the Lord” brought them trembling to their knees. They are not alone. Throughout Scripture, those subjected to the manifest “glory of the Lord” instinctively respond with terror! The reason is clear. The radiance of God’s glory exposes sin! When God’s angel appeared to the shepherds and “the glory of the Lord shone around them” they had nowhere to hide. That glory exposed their pride, lust, bitterness, coveting, apathy towards God and more! In an instant, every one of those shepherds understood how worthy of hell they were! And that’s precisely why the angel’s announcement that a Savior had been born was so precious to them.
Can I ask? In the light of God’s word, do you recognize your own depravity like the shepherds recognized theirs? Do you understand that—left to yourself—everything you are, do, and think is tarnished by your self-centeredness and sin? Because, if you’ve never recognized the depth of your sin, I don’t see how the coming of a Savior can mean anything to you.
Jesus says he came to save sinners. If a sinner isn’t what you are, of what relevance can Christmas be? However, if—left to yourself—you’re a sinner worthy of hell, take heart! Rejoice in what the angel says, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Do you know him?
Believing the Impossible
Mary went to visit relatives. She was only gone three months. Then again, a lot can happen in three months. Apparently, in Mary’s case, a lot did. Is that a baby bump? “Mary, what have you done? With whom did you do it? Does our engagement mean so little to you? Now what? Do I subject her to public shame? No! I will divorce her privately. Two witnesses will suffice. Then she can get on with her life. And maybe, in time, I’ll get on with my life too. Please Lord, help me sleep.”
And so, he did. Joseph slept. Joseph dreamed. And in the dream Joseph dreamed, there came an angel who commanded him to believe the impossible—that a pregnant woman can be virgin. In Matthew 1:20-21 the angel says, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Really? “Don’t worry, Joe? What’s conceived in your fiancé is from the Holy Spirit”? Right. Of course. How silly of me to think otherwise.
I’m pretty sure Joseph’s first thought after discovering Mary’s pregnancy wasn’t, “No problem, virgins get pregnant all the time.” He wasn’t stupid! Virgins don’t have babies! To think otherwise is to believe the impossible! But that’s exactly what the angel commanded Joseph to do—believe the impossible!
So what about you and me? Do we believe the impossible? On the basis of Scripture, are we convinced that Jesus was born of a virgin? Many aren’t. For them, rejecting the virgin birth is a simple matter of science. And what difference does it make? The virgin birth of Christ is no big deal. Except the Bible reveals it is. In his Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem tells us why:
First, Grudem reminds us, “The virgin birth of Christ is an unmistakable reminder that salvation can never come through human effort. …Our salvation only comes about through the supernatural work of God.” In other words, the miraculous conception of Jesus is a demonstration of God’s power to save!
Second, Grudem explains, “The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person. …It helps us to understand how God, in his wisdom, ordained a combination of human and divine influence in the birth of Christ, so that his full humanity would be evident to us from the fact of his ordinary human birth from a human mother, and his full deity would be evident from the fact of his conception in Mary’s womb by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.” This is important. We must know that both the full humanity and the full deity of Jesus is critical to our salvation. If Jesus were not fully human, he could not be our high priest “who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Apart from his humanity Jesus could never have “become sin for us” when he died on the cross (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). At the same time, if Jesus were not fully God, he could never have satisfied the divine wrath that is our due. Only the eternal God can pay the eternal penalty for our sin.
Finally, Grudem explains, “The virgin birth also makes possible Christ’s true humanity without inherited sin. …Jesus did not descend from Adam in exactly the same way in which every other human being has descended from Adam. And this helps us to understand why the legal guilt and moral corruption that belongs to all other human beings did not belong to Christ.” Gabriel speaks to this when he tells Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be call holy…” In other words, born free of a fallen nature.
In the end, of course, Joseph did believe the impossible. He believed his fiancé was both pregnant and a virgin. Matthew says, “When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:24-25).
Today, the ball’s in our court. Do we believe the “impossible” like Joseph believed? Do we rejoice when we remember the supernatural birth of Christ? The virgin birth gives evidence of God’s power to save. It bears witness to the reality that the name of Jesus is, in fact, the only “name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)?
Thanks for reading. If you have comments or questions contact me at deanpshriver@gmail.com.
An Inconvenient Grace
Every children’s Christmas play has its angels. And that only makes sense. In the Bible, angels play a major role in the story of Christ’s birth. It’s an angel who informs Mary she’s about to be a mom. It’s an angel who assures Joseph that, in spite of her pregnancy, his fiancé has been faithful. And it’s an angel—accompanied by an angelic choir—who announces Christ’s birth to shepherds tending their flocks by night.
In the three weeks between now and Christmas, we’ll reflect on each of these angelic visits. As God’s messengers, what did each angel come to say? Who did they say it to? Most important, how does their message apply to you and me today?
We begin with an angel named Gabriel. God sent Gabriel to deliver a message to Mary. So, who was Mary? From a this-world perspective we can only say that she was “common”. Though strong in faith, she hailed from Nazareth—a backwater Galilean village with a bad reputation among the religious purists of the day. It’s almost certain she was a teenager—a virgin engaged to be married to a descendant of King David. Was Mary attractive or plain? The Bible doesn’t say. Either way, it’s Gabriel himself who reveals Mary’s greatest attribute. Addressing her in Luke 1:28-30 the angel announces, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! …Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
So how did Mary find favor with God? Did Mary earn favor with God? Was the Lord with Mary because she was such a “good person”? The Bible says no. While some believe Mary was sinless, the thought betrays her own testimony in Luke 1:46-47. There she acknowledges her own spiritual need in her song of praise, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”
And so, we see that the favor Gabriel assigns to Mary is not rooted in personal righteousness. God’s favor is a gift offered to all. Paul affirms this in Ephesians 1:6 when he describes God’s “glorious grace” using the same Greek wording found here in Luke 1:28. In other words, the “favor” Gabriel refers to is the favor of saving grace!
Can I get personal? If Gabriel came to you today, would he call you “favored one”? Could he rightly proclaim, “The Lord is with you”? In other words, have you experienced God’s saving grace? It’s the grace that comes by means of repentance and faith in Jesus who died on the cross to pay our sin penalty and rose from the grave to share his life with us.
If so, may I remind you of what God’s saving grace meant for Mary in regard to her earthly life. In this world, being favored in Christ will mean being inconvenienced by Christ.
Gabriel’s visit changed everything for Mary. Read Luke 1:26-38. You’ll see it. While glorious, God’s favor wasn’t easy for Mary. Not in this world. For Mary, God’s favor meant being pregnant out of wedlock. Her reputation was tarnished. Her engagement to Joseph threatened. When she came to term, God’s favor meant delivering her firstborn in an animal stall—then fleeing to Egypt under the threat of death. Later, God’s favor meant hearing her sinless son wrongly condemned and watching him die an excruciating death.
Of course, on the day of Gabriel’s visit, Mary could not have anticipated every trial God’s favor would bring. Nonetheless, convinced of his faithfulness, she confidently replied, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
As sinners saved by God’s grace can we not say the same knowing full well “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18)?
Lord, may we trust you like Mary trusted and rejoice in the “inconveniences” we encounter in this world because of the favor you’ve bestowed on us in Christ.
Be the One
Proverbs 19:3 says, “When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.” It’s strange. Why do we find it easier to blame God than give thanks to Him? Short answer? Our bent towards ingratitude is the fruit of self-centeredness and sin. In our fallenness, we are not inclined to recognize—let alone giving thanks for—the blessings God showers on us.
Luke 17:11-19 drives this truth home. It’s a story about Jesus and ten lepers. Luke writes, “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’ When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’”
Ten lepers cry out for mercy. Ten lepers obey Jesus when he tells them to show themselves to the priest. And, along the way, ten lepers are healed. But only one stops. Only one returns to Jesus. Only one gives glory to God! The other nine continue on their way—rejoicing but ungrateful. Their bodies restored, their hearts devoid of praise.
On this Thanksgiving Day, consider the goodness of God. If you’re a believer, think of all you possess in Christ. Beyond the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the shelter that warms us, the relationships we enjoy—consider the spiritual blessings that are ours!
Ephesians 1:3-14 proclaim them. In Christ, God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places… God loved you and chose you before you were born (verse 4). In spite of your sin, in Christ, you’ve become holy and blameless in God’s sight. You are an adopted child of God (verse 5). By grace through faith, you have been redeemed by means of Christ’s death on the cross (verse 7). Your sins are forgiven—all of them—past, present, and future. God has lavished his grace on you (verses 7-8). An eternal inheritance awaits you in heaven. You are rich beyond imagination (verses 11 and 14). And if that’s not enough, you are forever secure in your salvation having been sealed with the Holy Spirit who forever lives in you (verse 13).
So let me ask. Are you like the one who returned to Jesus to worship and give thanks? Am I? Or, are we more like the nine who, having been so richly blessed in Christ, ungratefully continue on our way? No praise. No worship. No thanksgiving.
By God’s grace, let’s be like the one! By the work of His Spirit within us, may we always be slow to complain and quick to give thanks to God our Savior. As followers of Christ, let’s make every day Thanksgiving Day!