Sunday, March 8, 2009

Amazing Grace

Although I did not post a blog last week, it is not because I didn’t try. What I had written was not worthy of your time, and that is unacceptable to me. If something appears on Peanuts, I hope there are those who will find that it edifies, convicts, or comforts. My purpose in this blog is to assist in building the body of believers – my brothers and sisters in Jesus, and to invite those who have yet to join the family of God.

This post is about grace. It is not because the name of my company is Grace Plastics. It is actually God’s company, but I think you understand what I mean. The concept of grace is so incredible, it is worth visiting.

Think about it, there is nothing you can do to get you on the good side of Jesus. Now, you may go to church, pray, read your Bible, witness, and even tithe. Wow, God is really going think I am something! Sorry, even though these things are very good, there is nothing we can do, good or bad, that will change our acceptance with God. Remember, Jesus loved you so much that before you did all these great things, He died for you. If you are like me, there is something down deep that screams, ‘If I do all these things, I will get an inside track with God. He is going to appreciate me for what I do.’ I need the reminder that there is nothing I can do to change my standing with the Lord. And there is nothing I can do in my own strength that will please God. (Read Heb. 11:6)

So where do we go from here? Well, first of all, we thank God for His grace, freely given to us. When we understand that there is nothing we can do to win God’s favor, we are on the road to liberty in Jesus. There is no more doing good things because of fear of God, or because of duty. We allow God to work His perfect work in us. It’s like my daughter’s pastor said recently, ‘Jesus plus anything equals nothing. Jesus plus nothing equals everything.’ If you don’t understand that, I want to hear from you. I would love more than anything else, to show you what God’s amazing grace really is.

Finally, so I don’t leave anyone with the wrong impression, we don’t give up on the good works mentioned above or any other good works. But we don’t do these things because of fear or duty. We do what God wants us to do out of love for Him. A good illustration is the young violinist who played for the crowd, but never left his eyes off his teacher. When he was done, he sought the smile of approval of his master. Only then did he accept the applause of the people. May we seek the smile of approval of our Master.

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