Some people are just nice people.  They do things for you without thinking about it or without expecting anything in return. Ideally, that is how life should be.  We should do things for people — sometimes because they ask us to, but mostly because we’re motivated to  do it out of a spirit of love and kindness.  However, our lives are complicated.  There are times when we find ourselves in an shaky situation and can’t make ends meet or can’t connect the dots (you choose your own metaphor).   If someone steps in to rescue us because we’re unable to save ourselves, then what is an appropriate response?  Various cultures dictate what the appropriate response should be.  In one culture, if someone saves your life, then you essentially owe your life to them in eternal service.  But if the One who saved your life is God, there may be another response that comes out of a relationship filled with gratitude and devotion to God.  In reality, what else could you do for God that would meet God’s needs — as if God had any needs that we could meet.  On the other hand, what God seeks is recognition, praise and gratitude for the blessings we’ve received and faithfulness in relationship because of God’s faithfulness to us.  For many of us that comes with a duty of sacrifice.  In fact, the first obligation required of Christian discipleship is to “deny yourself” — or to make of ourselves a living sacrifice.  Our salvation comes because God has looked upon us and pitied our condition.  Perhaps all God expects is that we return to God the thanksgiving, honor, praise, glory, faithfulness, devotion, and service that God has shown us in our time of desperation.  One sure way we could truly repay God for God’s goodness to us is by making a sacrifice of praise.  That’s all God requires.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious and merciful God, You listened when I cried out to You for mercy. Grant that my life may become a sacrifice of praise and that by my words, actions, and thanksgiving, I give witness to Your mercy and love each day.

         Phillip Yancey wrote a book titled, “What’s So Amazing about Grace?” in which he recounted a story about C. S. Lewis.  He wrote:

       During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith.

       They began eliminating possibilities.  Incarnation?  Other religions had different versions of God appearing in human form.  Resurrection?  Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

       The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis walked into the room.  “What’s the rumpus about? he asked and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy.  It’s grace.”  After some discussion, the conferees had to agree.

       The idea of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity.  The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law — each of these offers a way to earn approval.  Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.

         How wonderful the gift of God that doesn’t require anything from us to meet God’s approval.  That God first loved us and now only asks that we be led to God’s grace through our faith is the east complicated, least burdensome answer to eternal life.  And it was all initiated by God through a promise to Abraham who found God’s favor credited to him because of his faith.  Amazing grace indeed that saves us all by faith.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, I’m eternally grateful for the faith that leads me to Your grace through a promise made by you. It is Your grace and faithfulness that keeps my faith and my hope alive.

         Trying to manage our lives by obeying God’s law is an exercise in futility.  It’s just that trying to do so puts us under a curse we’re unable to escape from because we’re unable to fully comply with the law as it’s written.  The law is excellent at helping us to know where we’ve gone wrong, but not so helpful in guiding us to know how to make course corrections — at least at the time the law was written.  But an exception to the law is that “The righteous shall live by faith.”  That changes not only the nature of the game, but the expectations and outcome of the game as well.

       So, those of us who were not required to live under the law had to meet God’s proof another way.  God — by the blessings of grace, and our faith that Christ became our curse for us — opened the doors of grace through faith so that those who were not bound by the law could be freed from its curse.  It’s within the exception that we find ourselves freed from the burden of the law and free to proceed with a faith that leads to grace.  God did it through Christ because of the promise made to Abraham.  It was God’s promise that led us to grace through faith.

• Does the idea of being freed from a curse of death by someone else’s death impact your understanding of God’s grace?
• What does being free from a curse of disobedience mean for you in your relationship with God?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Precious Lord, You are responsible from my freedom to be led to Your grace through faith in Your promise. For the blessings of Your grace, I am eternally thankful.