If you listen to some people you might think that God always has His hand out. He seems to need money, time, energy, service, devotion and so much more. You must do this for Him and that for Him, they suggest. His kingdom requires your money; His pleasure requires your faithfulness; His work requires your service – if you listen to what they say. But is God a taker or a giver?
Well, I suppose you could say that He is both, but not in the sense some of these teachers might think. You see, He takes us out of the darkness and brings us into the light. He takes us out of shame and brings us into joy. He takes us out of fear and brings us into peace. He took you, but He doesn't take from you.
Instead, He gives to you. Do a concordance or a computer study sometime of the word "given" in the New Testament. You will find that the Father has given you to the Son. You belong to Jesus. When you came to Him for salvation, He took you and brought you into His kingdom and now you are His. You will also find that, from the day of your salvation onward through eternity, you will be given good from His hand.
The forgiveness of your sins was a gift from the love of God. The life you have has been given to you from Jesus. The work you are called to do is given by Him, as is the energy and wisdom to do that work. Your salvation, your sanctification, your glorification – all are gifts from Him. Everything you have has been given to you.
Paul reminded us that we are not to boast because all these things have been given to us. They are not things we have done for ourselves. At the same time, we are not to live under condemnation for not "giving God enough." The point of the grace message is that God has initiated a relationship with us where He gives us all that we need – just because He loves us. In a sense, He does have His hand out, and it is filled with blessings for His people!
David Orrison
No comments:
Post a Comment