By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. … For we are … created in Christ Jesus for good works, which (are) … to be our way of life. Ephesians 2.8, 10
Self-giving love by Jesus, who Paul says emptied himself, is what allows us all to be saved. Mark McIntosh states in Mysteries of Faith that Jesus gives the human race a new example of loving self-giving and that his crucifixion, death and resurrection overturned the disciples’ understanding of themselves and of God. The disciples would follow Jesus’ example and be willing to risk everything in order to save others. Their lives are a testament to what it means to be saved to serve. By raising Jesus from the dead, God showed that Jesus’ death had nothing to do with God. It was not God’s handiwork to torture the Beloved or abandon and betray him. It was not God who condemned Jesus to the cross, but humankind. In Christ we learn that God is goodness and love itself and has nothing whatsoever to do with violence, hatred and anger. Thanks be to God.
– Zetta Garrett, Year 4, EFM
I have always loved the fact that being saved by grace means that nothing we can do will ever be enough to earn that salvation.
On the flip side of that coin, once we are saved, there is nothing we can ever do that will be enough to express our gratitude for the gift that has been given to us, but the very fact that we received it compels us to try!
This reminds me of last Sunday’s Epistle from Romans: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame…Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Shame isn’t always caused by others, but can also be defined as a self imposed “painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety”
When following Jesus we can be saved from sins like these.
Thank you Zetta, and yes, thanks be to God!
@Greg, exactly, there are so many Bible verses supporting that without God we can nothing; but, I especially like this verse in John: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”
(A little like Father Andy’s nectarine tree…)
It’s very comforting, isn’t it, to know that we are basically nothing alone, but by simply trusting that God saves us, we can do most anything!
I like these comments, so true. Our God is there for us always.
Lent teaches us and reminds us over and over to give selflessly. Loved your comments to remind us.