Thought for Today

Jeremiah 31:33  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  

Psalm 18:30  This God-- his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.  

Romans 11:6  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--  

Do you ever wonder just how this whole thing ‘works out?’ Maybe you wake up in the morning to the terrifying realization that you’re completely unsure of what’s going on? The Bible tells us of our early ancestor-in-the-faith, Abraham, “Genesis 18:19 I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Some days, I wake up wanting to ask God, “Why?”

Why did God choose Abraham? Why did God write his law on the hearts of the Israelites? Why did they repeatedly take detours from “the way of the Lord?” And, irrespective of the answers, did those Israelites do something to merit God’s selection, God’s choice of them? Is our relationship with God through our merit, through something we have done? Is our relationship with God purely through the grace of God, totally devoid of any merit on our part?

First, I believe the psalmist is correct. God’s way is perfect. God does keep God’s promises, despite the fact that we often do not keep our promises to God. God is a shield for all who take refuge in him. “Psalm 91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; 4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” That still leaves my question unanswered. Why?

When we ponder our relationship with God, we have 2 ready resources, the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible may not be a very good science textbook, but it is the ultimate source of information about God and our relationship with God. One of the most formative verses for me is Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” When I read that verse in conjunction with John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” I begin to think we are looking at the whole thing incorrectly.

Instead of juxtaposing merit and grace and trying to determine which one determines our salvation, I believe the answer to the great “Why?” of life resides in God’s love. God offers all of God’s children that gift of which Paul wrote, the gift of God’s grace through our faith in Jesus, the Christ. God sent Jesus, God’s Son, into God’s Creation for the sole purpose of saving all of Creation, including us. God did so, merely because God loves. Notice, I did not append any qualifies to that statement. God loves. Even when we do not do justice, love kindness nor walk humbly with God, God still loves. God does not condone our misbehavior when we divert from “the way of the Lord.” But, God still loves.

I am humanly incapable of fully understanding the ‘why?’ of such love. Try as I might, there will always be ‘neighbors’ whom I cannot love. There will always be ‘neighbors’ whom I cannot image God loves; but, I know that in fact God does love them also.

I am firmly fixed in my Protestant belief that there is no salvific work I can perform to somehow earn or merit my salvation. But, I have read the Epistle of James and believe that “2:17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” I will therefore, live my faith by accepting God’s love and grace, by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with my God.

Stay safe, walk humbly with God, trust God,

Pastor Ray