I am now reading "Radical Together" by David Platt. Today, he blew me away.
"The only reason I have heard the Gospel of God is because of the grace of God."
I mean, really, think about that. I could have been born in an unreached people (2 billion out of the 6 billion people in the world) and I would not even know the name of Jesus. Romans 1:20 says that God's invisible qualities are made known to everyone, so that all are without an excuse. I understand that God is just; so with that knowledge, I fall to my knees in thankfulness that I was born in a place where I am exposed again and again with the gospel. You should thank God today for this same grace you have received.
A couple of years ago I remember being struck by Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved by faith..." A verse that I have known for years. A verse I've quoted in my own testimony. A verse I've taught students for years in Awana.
ReplyDeleteI've known that it was grace that enabled me to be a Christian. It wasn't that I did something. But I also had a little sense of pride that I CHOOSE to have faith. It struck me, suddenly, that the faith I thought I choose to have was even an act of grace.
There's all kinds of debates - are we pre-destined? Do we choose our own salvation? Regardless of that issue, even if I chose to believe, I could have only done that because God showed me grace. Wow!