His grace is enough

My friends and family who possess a more refined grasp of the English language will have to excuse this math-minded teacher's attempt at a "response paper". It's been a long time since I wrote one.  But, I'm compelled to respond to a theme that has been reaching my heart through the book I've been reading, sermons I've been hearing, and conversations I've been having.

This morning, my pastor continued a series on being Commissioned, focusing on the message I need to share as I "go and make disciples". (Matt. 28:20) In Luke 24, Christ reminds His disciples that He has fulfilled the prophesies of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms, and then proceeds to state the Gospel, the message I am to share with the world: "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Lk. 24:46, 47) The gospel, stated very simply by the One who makes it possible.

At the tender age of 5, I don't know that I fully comprehended all that I was repenting, or changing my mind about. But I do know that I was keenly aware of the fact that God is holy, and in my sin, I could not have a relationship with Him. There was NOTHING I could do that would be "good enough" to reach God. Yet Christ paid the penalty for my sin, and in accepting that, by faith, I could live my life with Him. That salvation experience changed my life. Being justified threw me into the journey of becoming like Christ, being sanctified.

The book I've been reading (Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian) revealed that while I fully believed that Christ's work on the cross justified me, I also believed that it was all up to me and my work to make the sanctification process happen. I've been living my life in such a way that says the gospel stopped at salvation, that His grace was enough to save me, and that's it. Colossians 1:6 was a bit of a wake-up call: "...the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth..." Christ's life, death, and resurrection is what affects change in the world, not my attempts at holiness. The gospel bears fruit, not my efforts to produce.

Colossians came up often in the book. Reading the following passage in light of Christ's work gives me a blueprint of what my life should be about:

"...that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will 

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,

to please Him in all respects,

bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might,

for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience;

joyously giving thanks to the Father, 

who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,

and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption, 

the forgiveness of sins."

(Col. 1:9b-14)

When I focus my eyes and my energy on who God is and what Christ did, then, the realization of who I am in Christ will take shape in my life. Christ's atoning sacrifice both justifies and sanctifies. As I come to a deeper understanding of God's grace and who I am in Christ, my walk will reflect it. I will not seek to be filled with the trappings of this world. If I am filled with Christ, I will share that with others and live in such a way that others see Him. 

I'm thankful for a family that knows and lives the Gospel daily. They have invested their lives in making Christ known. Even 11 years after his death, the testimony of my grandfather compels me to know my Savior deeply. A line from one of his letters to me, "If I am anything which can honor our dear Lord, I am grateful. But I know only too well that I am a weak and often faltering child of God." Knowing that I am weak and will fail in my own strength forces me to rest in the power of Christ's finished work.  

I'm not sure if I've actually connected everything I meant to connect, but at least these thoughts are written down. I'm looking forward to coming to a deeper understanding of His grace.