Verse of the Day 5/21

Verse of the Day 5/21

1 Corinthians 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.    English Standard Version (ESV)

Our couples small group met lest night and we watched a video from Tim Keller in which he talked about the prodigal son from Luke 15.  In it, he pointed out that both the younger brother and the older brother were guilty of the same thing, but from different angles.  The younger son had desired the father's resources now, he received them but then squandered them.  The older brother was upset when the father accepted the younger brother back because now the resources that in the future would have been "rightfully his" (in his eyes) were going to be spent on his brother who had blown it.

When you step back and look at it, both had the same attitude for the father, "you owe me".  It didn't matter that one was now and one was for the future, at their core, they cared more about what they thought they deserved or had "coming to them".  One while away and the other while at home.

The Apostle Paul, earlier in his life, thought that he was earning points for God in persecuting the Christians, those who were truly following God.  Later, at the time of writing this letter, he realized correctly that we aren't earning points with God in order to receive future rewards.  Yes, he was working, following hard after God but it was God's grace working in and through Him that enabled him to do so.  The glory was not his but was given to God.

I've quoted John Piper's definition of grace many times before and it fits well with this verse and this discussion, "Grace is not leniency when we have sinned.  Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin.  Grace is power not just pardon....Paul describes grace as the enabling power of his work.  It is not simply the pardon of his sins, it is the power to press on in obedience."  He continues, "The same dynamic is at work at every stage of the Christian life."

Read the following passage from Ephesians 2 also written by Paul.

Ephesians 2:8-10The Message (MSG)

^7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

It should serve as a reminder that "we don't play the major role, God does".  May we  draw upon His grace, His power  to accomplish His purpose in our lives today.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

1 Corinthians 15:10-11The Message (MSG)

^10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn't amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it's all the same: We spoke God's truth and you entrusted your lives.