Freed by Grace; Ephesians 1-2

May the mumbling commence!

As I was reading my daily three chapters of the New Testament, a couple of images came up in my mind.  The first one was from the movie “Lion King”.  I remembered when Simba, a young lion cub, was confronted with a pack of adult hyenas.  Simba let out his loudest roar, only to be laughed at. 

Undaunted, Simba roared again.  This time the hyenas ran in fear.  Simba may have thought he frightened them away, but his father, the king of the jungle, was standing behind him.

The other image that came to mind was from the Christian comedian (I can’t recall his name) who has the video entitled “Super Sheep”.  In the video, a comic strip is shown with a lamb walking in a valley of trouble.  The lamb is holding the shepherd’s hand and telling the dangers around him that, “I’m with him”.  And the lamb points to the shepherd.

I wonder how many times in my life I think of my “great accomplishments” but am totally unaware of the King of my life that made it possible.  Too many to count, I am sure.  If you are honest, you most likely would say the same thing.  All of my successes can be attributed to the grace and mercy of the Lord.  Read from Ephesians chapter two:

To you, who were spiritually dead all the time that you drifted along on the stream of this world's ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler (who is still operating in those who do not respond to the truth of God), to you Christ has given life! We all lived like that in the past, and followed the impulses and imaginations of our evil nature, being in fact under the wrath of God by nature, like everyone else.

But even though we were dead in our sins God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, gave us life together with Christ – it is, remember, by grace and not by achievement that you are saved – and has lifted us right out of the old life to take our place with him in Christ in the Heavens. Thus he shows for all time the tremendous generosity of the grace and kindness he has expressed towards us in Christ Jesus. It was nothing you could or did achieve – it was God's gift to you. No one can pride himself upon earning the love of God. The fact is that what we are we owe to the hand of God upon us. We are born afresh in Christ, and born to do those good deeds which God planned for us to do. (Verses 1-10)

I am not a self-made man.  No one is self-made.  No pride is excusable.  What we are we owe to God and His Son Jesus.

Give thanks to the Lord for mercy and grace.  Give thanks that the Lord leads us.  Give thanks that the Lord holds our hand.  Give thanks that the Lord is our rear guard.  Give thanks that the Lord has prepared good deeds for us to do.

Let us do these works fully aware of our need and acceptance of the grace and mercy of God.  We do not do good works to create God’s love for us.  God’s love is already there.  We do the good works that God prepared for us because of thanksgiving and worship.

So, let’s do what we are made to do – knowing that we have the comfort of the mercy and grace of God to protect us.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out