Lent 2018 Devotional: Day Five
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what [s]he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” —Ephesians 2:8–10
This passage encapsulates how I understand the core of the good news of Jesus Christ. Notice that there are no restrictions on who God’s grace is for. All the barriers that exist between us and Jesus’ saving love are based on limited human thinking—whether our own, or in the minds who want to “protect” the gospel from those they fear are not worthy of it. But underneath all of that fear, doubt, contempt, feelings of self-loathing or unworthiness, or any other conceivable restriction, is the Christ of love, seeking intimate partnership in our lives.
I grew up in a church where I did not see the love of Christ reflected. There were many who we were told were not fit for the kingdom of God, and condemnations against them were expressed loudly and frequently from the pulpit. “Grace” was not a common word there. I could not follow a Jesus who closed the doors of redemption against so many, so I left—for nearly two decades. I followed works of justice, particularly for those who were condemned by my childhood church. But that justice was not tied to Jesus, at least in any spiritual sense. In my mind, those two did not go together.
Through many struggles, I found that I could not justify myself. There was a hollowness I could not name. For a long time I put it down to being a “seeker.” That restlessness was just a part of life, I told myself. If I only worked harder, dedicated and thinned myself out more, I would find…whatever it was. Eventually I encountered Christians who lived their faith another way, one that shut no one out. That was where Jesus found me—not the cold, condemnatory judge from my childhood, but the savior who invited me into a new life of wholeness. Finally “salvation” and “grace” became not just words, but manifestations of God’s love for me, and through the gathered body of Christ, for all.
Today, reflect on your own story of grace. Has Jesus broken through in your own life? Have you ever felt separated from that love?
This passage encapsulates how I understand the core of the good news of Jesus Christ. Notice that there are no restrictions on who God’s grace is for. All the barriers that exist between us and Jesus’ saving love are based on limited human thinking—whether our own, or in the minds who want to “protect” the gospel from those they fear are not worthy of it. But underneath all of that fear, doubt, contempt, feelings of self-loathing or unworthiness, or any other conceivable restriction, is the Christ of love, seeking intimate partnership in our lives.
I grew up in a church where I did not see the love of Christ reflected. There were many who we were told were not fit for the kingdom of God, and condemnations against them were expressed loudly and frequently from the pulpit. “Grace” was not a common word there. I could not follow a Jesus who closed the doors of redemption against so many, so I left—for nearly two decades. I followed works of justice, particularly for those who were condemned by my childhood church. But that justice was not tied to Jesus, at least in any spiritual sense. In my mind, those two did not go together.
Through many struggles, I found that I could not justify myself. There was a hollowness I could not name. For a long time I put it down to being a “seeker.” That restlessness was just a part of life, I told myself. If I only worked harder, dedicated and thinned myself out more, I would find…whatever it was. Eventually I encountered Christians who lived their faith another way, one that shut no one out. That was where Jesus found me—not the cold, condemnatory judge from my childhood, but the savior who invited me into a new life of wholeness. Finally “salvation” and “grace” became not just words, but manifestations of God’s love for me, and through the gathered body of Christ, for all.
Today, reflect on your own story of grace. Has Jesus broken through in your own life? Have you ever felt separated from that love?
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