An Abundance of Grace

From the days of Adam until now, the expectations of godly men and women are realized in the person of Jesus Christ -- Who He is, what He does, all that He represents. Most of us would agree, however, that some of the expectations of the godly aren’t so ‘godly’. Rather, we can shade them in selfishness, impatience, covetousness or misunderstanding and as a consequence be very disappointed with God and with each other.

Paul claimed that he had not already attained or been perfected or had apprehended because he is referring to his goal, the prize of the upward call – his final transformation.

When hopes are dashed, and grief is raw, that’s ‘Saturday’. When all your purpose seems absolutely purposeless, that’s ‘Saturday’. When you heart hardens into a callous pursuit of self-gratification or worldly comfort – that’s ‘Saturday’. When doubts and fears surround, and you feel like hiding – that’s ‘Saturday’.

And many, if not most of us can get stuck there to some extent.

When Jesus was challenged about His ministry to “sinners”, He spoke three parables – one about a lost sheep, another about a lost coin and one we all remember, the lost or prodigal son. All three speak of loss but the primary point of view of the first two is of the seeker and that of the third is of the one lost.

A rarely mentioned attribute of God’s creation is that it is filled (pun intended) with containers. You see, people are containers; the earth is a container, the cosmos in its entirety is a massive container. And of course, there are containers for virtually everything – material and spiritual. But there is one exception to this – God, Himself. God does not contain, God is and God fills.

Furthermore, Gabriel went to the village of Nazareth, basically a “non-place”. It wasn’t even mentioned in the Old Testament or in the rabbinical writings. A shoddy, corrupt stop between the ports of Tyre and Sidon, it was basically overrun by gentiles and roman soldiers.

It was indeed about 4000 years since Adam was exiled from the garden and specifically the Tree of Life. According to Peter in 2 Peter 3:8, that’s four days to the Lord. As God warned, Adam (and mankind) died after eating of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As with Lazarus, God waited for the right time to make that right. He waited four days to raise him from the dead.

But while the garden of Eden ended in death coming from a deadly tree, Jesus brought forth another tree, the cross of Calvary which became for us a tree of Life. That’s because when you believe in Jesus’ Name – God saves - you are doing God’s will:

So, the revealing John spoke of is actually two-fold – one we look forward to in hope (a hope that purifies us!) and one that is even now ongoing. In both cases, there’s a transformation and Christ is glorified. In both cases, we glorify Jesus because it’s His glory:

This hope is what anchors (tethers) our soul to God Almighty and brings us into the realization of His presence in us.

But God chose their progenitor and the people. He chose them to be “a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth”. And this was not for their numbers or their intelligence or their wealth or their integrity or any other human measure.

Now, as I said earlier, pride is part of your DNA so to speak. It is part of your dead fleshly nature. Humility, on the other hand, is not. Like agape love, you must choose to put it on.

I can rest in the understanding that I am complete because of Jesus in me and I can rest in the whole growth issue because it’s in God’s hands, it’s His work.

You know, after you are genuinely saved, Christ is no longer ‘out there’ or ‘up there’ or ‘somewhere’. But He is forever IN THERE, in you, and you are IN HIM. Let this really sink in. Union in Christ is one of the most fundamental creeds we have.

I can relate to Peter; he was a ‘doer’, a ‘get r done’ kind of guy. So, he couldn’t just sit around waiting for Jesus. I think he was also the kind of guy that could carry a big load, a big load of guilt that is. So, after Christ had risen from the grave and they had made the trek to Galilee, Peter said to his fellows, “I’m going fishing.” I mean what else was there to do besides wait.

Yes, fundamentally, God’s love through us is a choice, our choice, our response. It’s His love, His power, but our response. And as if to amplify this point, Jesus told the guys, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” That is, this choosing ability should never go to our heads or be taken for granted for we only get to choose God’s love because He first chose us.