Thursday, February 23, 2023

 

Thursday, February 23, 2023


Psalms 124; 125; 126

Genesis 37:1-24

Luke 10:25-37


Observance: Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, martyr (d. c. 155)


But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands.


What does it mean for our relationship with God to have our heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh? Before we were saved, we were found “kicking against the goads”; resenting God for asking us to love Him and one another.


God really likes the idea of us being holy, as He is holy. In the great mystery of God’s sovereignty and how it interacts with our responsibility, God gives us both the carrot and the stick. Behave in a holy manner: because that is the road to life. Do not behave in an unholy manner: because that is the road to death.


Particularly in this season of Lent, it can be easy to fall into the temptation of seeing God as giving us all stick and no carrot. Fasting, prayer, Bible study and works of charity can become laborious chores, performed in order to avoid the fires of hell.


God’s invitation to us to live a holy life is actually a precious gift. Article 13 reads: “Works done before the grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ.” But now that we have been justified in the sight of God by what Christ did for us on that tree at Calvary, our good works are “pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith.” (Article 12)


The guarantee of salvation that we have in Christ, and the subsequent acceptance of all good works because of that salvation, means that we should be looking for opportunities to perform holy deeds. It makes life a divine adventure; a sacred game. Just like Reuben finding the opportunity to save his brother, or the Samaritan who went above and beyond to help the man on the side of the road, we should keep our antennae alert for whatever opportunities God is giving us. The next time the opportunity to show the love of Christ appears, why not give in and go for it? What could possibly go wrong?



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