Grace and Consequences ...

Monday, Feb 28, 2022. Good morning. Our current thoughts are all taking place in the light of the war in Ukraine since last week Thursday. Around us, people are upset and angry about the attack of Ukraine by Russian forces, commanded by Vladimir Putin.

How to come to good and sustainable conclusions? We believe that our mind and our heart needs Gods words, we need to listen to him to be able to make wise and good decisions in the middle of any crisis. We need his word anyway, we need it in the best days of our life, but also in the worst days.

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God's Grace …

We will be celebrating the 40 days towards Easter this year with 40 days of thoughts about passion, about life, about goals and limitations, but also about judgement.

1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, ‘In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation. (2. Kor 6, 1-2)

To understand these passages, we need to briefly step back and put them into context. The author, the apostle Paul, writes to the Christians in the city of Korinth. They have believed in the message of salvation in Christ Jesus. They believed, that God carried all their sin and their misery to the cross. They believed God to be there, and to be holy, to be friendly, to be full of love, grace and blessing in Jesus.

The Christian message remains a very tough message, but of unparalleled depth and wisdom. It is a message of love, but also a message of judgement. Only when people receive the grace of God through Jesus, they have gone through judgement into salvation.

In the light of a war, of aggression and lies to innocent people, the words about judgement and grace seem to show more of their original depth and understanding. Coming to faith in Jesus means to enter a different way of life, a different mode of action.

… and Consequences …

Faith has consequences. Lies cannot be part of faith. God is love, he is holy love. He told Moses that anyone who sees God needs to die (2. Mose 33). The death of Jesus opens a path here. Everyone who believes in him, passed through death and gains eternal life.

Faith in Jesus has consequences. It is called “life in God” and “life with God”. Paul calls the Christians his fellow workers. And they are his fellow workers, we all who we have started to believe in Jesus are his fellow workers. But more than that, we are part of him. Our thoughts, our motives, our actions, our words, should be full of him. Our life needs to reflect who he is. Nothing else is possible.

To be clear: if your life resists him, you will loose him. That does not mean that you can not be “on a journey”. God knows that you started with behavioural patterns which are far from him. He knows that you continue to be a sinner, even as a Christian. But change is urgently needed. We need to want to change. We need to work on this change. Working out our salvation means to work on a life that step by step changes into something reflecting the character and love of the eternal God.

The Christian message remains a tough message. It can also be called a sweet message. God's favour is with us in Christ Jesus. It is a fantastic, unbelievable, overwhelming wisdom, love, freedom and friendship, which we experience in him through the holy spirit. What else can we say here? Come! Come to faith, and join us as a fellow worker in Christ! (Roland Potthast)