Thought for Today
Psalm 51:5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
Isaiah 59:1 See, the Lord's hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
Luke 18:13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
Romans 3:22 . . . For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
My mind this morning is still on the question with which I began yesterday, “Do you ever wonder just how this whole thing ‘works out?’” It’s not that I have any doubts about Paul’s bold statement to the church in Ephesus, “2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” The evident truth of Paul’s declaration is firmly fixed in my mind. I am a child of the Reformation, with its declarations of sola fide (Latin for ‘by faith alone’), sola gratia (Latin for ‘by grace alone’); and, sola Scriptura (Latin for ‘Scripture alone’). I understand that there is nothing I can do, no act I can perform or words I can say to merit God’s eternal love and God’s gift of my salvation.
But there are those days when I feel like that tax collector of whom Jesus spoke, Days when all I can say is “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Before anyone in my congregation has heart palpitations, or any of my friends and acquaintances thinks “Ah, ha, I knew it!” I have not and do not anticipate committing any grievous sins. I have only occasionally murdered the English language. I have never stolen anything except (hopefully) Greta’s heart. However, Paul was correct. We have all sinned; we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
Repeatedly, in the Creation narrative of Genesis, we read “And God saw that it was good.” (Gen. 1:4, 1:10,1:12, 1:18) That narrative concludes in chapter 1 with “31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” Sixth day or first day of the week, look around you. Is the world we have created “indeed . . . very good?”
Who is to blame? Can humanity excuse the mess we have made using Adam’s defense? When God encountered Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit, Adam said, "Genesis 3:10 I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." I hear Adam saying, “There’s only 3 of us here, You, me and her. It wasn’t me!” Is that humanity’s answer to God for the world in which we live? “It’s not my fault!”?
I do not keep a list of all my imputed sins. But, I do know that I have fallen, am fallen and will continue to be fallen short of the glory of God. I know those words of Paul. I know the truth of the words of the psalmist, “the Lord's hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” I am assured that when I pray to God, whether my prayer is lengthy or terse, God ears will hear, God’s hand will save.
As an adult, I have read the Epistle of James. It was not the favorite book of Martin Luther or John Calvin. In some ways, it has become one of my favorite books of our Bible. James took on the difficult theological question of faith versus works. Christians have debated the issues of redemption and salvation for 2000+ years. It is the underlying issue at hand in those 3 solas of the Reformation. It is at the heart of Jesus’ story in Luke 18:10-14. Who was saved, who was justified before God, the Pharisee or the tax collector?
I find my answer to this whole issue in James. “2:18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” My prayers do not focus on my sins, but I do acknowledge them to God. Often I remember these other words of the psalmist, “19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” And, in my prayers, I always thank God for God’s love in sending God’s Son for my salvation.
Stay safe, talk to God often, trust God,
Pastor Ray