Aren’t we as Christians prone to judge one another by what we deem to be respectable behavior? Yet, the Bible says, “Basically, all of us, whether insider or outsider, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners…our involvement with God’s revelation doesn’t put us right with God…we are utterly incapable of living like God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity He put us in right standing with Himself!” Romans 3:9-21
Isn’t it a marvelous notion that when we are or were at our worst we were put on friendly terms with God by His blood sacrifice? Boy that is freeing!
God gives us such promise for our lives despite our utterly sinful condition. Remember the promise that Abraham received that his children would possess the earth? It had nothing to do with something he did. It was because God put everything together for him, and then Abraham entered in to what God initiated when he believed.
“God does not respond to what we do, we respond to what God does. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.” Romans 3:28
“…the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and His way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does.” Romans 4:16 MSG
Abraham was called “father” not because he lived like a Saint, but because God made something out of him when we was no body. Because he dared to trust God to make something out of nothing He was declared fit. He trusted God to make him so.
With God on the scene in our lives and the lives of those we love, there aren’t enough containers to collect all that He generously pours out into our lives. Truly it isn’t from anything we deserve or could work up for ourselves. It’s a free gift of love that gets us on right terms with God.
