Day 2524 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
Ephesians 2:9 NIV
We get stuck trying to earn our salvation. It's something that everyone does. I do it. I know you do it. It's one of those weird human quirks that we all have in the back of our minds. We think that there must be something we can do to ensure that we've received forgiveness and mercy and salvation. There has to be something that we can do better, stop doing altogether, or change in some way that will suddenly make this clicking sound and leave us feeling like everything has finally fallen into place.
But that's just not how it works because it's not about our works. As we discussed yesterday, the Son of God came to earth and died on a cross. What do we think we can possibly do to add to that? What can we offer that will equal that? Can we really do or say something that would make that more powerful? By thinking that we can work for it or earn it or somehow do something or say something that will sure up the whole deal is only pointing to a serious issue.
If we think we have to earn God's love, or mercy, or salvation, or forgiveness then we must think the cross wasn’t enough.
Bet there's a few out there that have never considered it from that side before. But that's exactly what we're doing when we get it in our heads that we have to work for it. We're questioning the all-encompassing, life-changing, world-shattering power of what Jesus Christ came on this earth to do. We're allowing ourselves to doubt what He Himself said as He hung on that tree. "It is finished."
Folks, trying to work for and earn our salvation is nothing but a distraction cooked up by this vain pride inside that wants to give us something to brag about. We figure that if we can earn it then we can take some of the credit. If we work hard enough then we deserve part of the glory. But the bottom line is that the Gospel has never been about us, our glory, our vanity, or our desire to boast about what we've accomplished.
The Gospel is the resounding message that we couldn't do it alone. Without God reaching down to us in the form of Christ and the cross we would have no chance. There's nothing we can do, nothing we can say, nothing we can offer to the God who created everything and everyone. He has no needs. So how could we think that there's something we can do that would rival the cross, cover our mistakes, and do what Christ did for us?
It's just not possible. That's why we have to stop thinking we can work for it, or earn it, or barter for it with a few decent actions. All we can do is accept the gift we've been given and give all the glory to God for the love that gift shows. Making it about us or our works or our words only keeps us in the story, but the story is all about Him and how good He is. We have to get ourselves out of the way.
But if you really want to do something to scratch that itch that tells you that you just have to do something to play some part in it all, pray. Pray often. Pray continually. Thank Him every single day for doing what we never could and opening a door to a kind of peace and love that we could never find by ourselves.
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