And Still We Work
But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
For
if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of
his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his
life! Romans 5: 8, 10
Just the other day I had a conversation with a group of
women. The conversation was about grace and Law. There is still so much in this
world that strives to convince us that the free gift of salvation is simply too
good to be true. Further it is fairly unfathomable that every sin is the same.
As soon as I said that we cannot save ourselves the conversation took that
familiar turn, the inequity that we see in how God measures, or more accurately
does not measure sin.
Immediately the protests start. But what about people who
harm children? Well, we’re all God’s children. What about people who sin
repeatedly? That always reminds me of Paul’s thorn in the flesh. There are
teachings that say it was a disease or recurring health issue, which is highly
possible but I wonder if it was that same trap that just kept plaguing him.
Only you can know what yours is. Gambling? Addiction? Gossip? Lying? Whatever
it is, whatever sin we commit, it is the same as any other sin. Moreover it does not separate us from God unless we let it. We are found, forgiven, free. It shouldn’t be fear of offending God so much that he simply cannot forgive us that motivates our behavior.
There it is, we want something to do and something not to
do that can assure us a place in heaven, beyond that we want to know what we
can do to please God.
Jesus made it ridiculously simple. He took the ten
commandments and broke them down to two. Love God and love your neighbor. Easy to say and to remember
but hard to do.
Our works should not be motivated by fear. They should be
motivated by love, by a love that gives all for us, even “while we were still sinners” which,
by the way we are and will be until we are perfected at home in heaven. Fear
holds us back from that perfect love.
For years I’ve seen, heard and even said, “let go and let God.”
It’s a cliché but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Let go of fear and let love
rush in.
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