One of the things that separate
Christianity from all other religion is grace. Religion is man’s ways to reach
out to God Christianity is God reaching down to man. It is by receiving His
grace we can inherit the Kingdom of God.
Millions of believers today think that
in order to be on God’s good side, we have to perform. What’s dangerous about
this theology is you can never be good enough to buy God’s favor. It’s a gift. The only way we can have God’s unmerited favor
is to accept the finished work on the Cross.
The Bible says that Jesus came to
destroy the works of the devil. When we realize that everything we need has
been given to us, we will not strive anymore. We don’t have to live a
performance based life. We don’t have to think, “Lord please bless me with a good job because I’ve been going to church
for six months straight.” We don’t have to plead, “Bless me God financially or heal my sickness because I’ve been a
faithful tither.” Nothing wrong with works but if we mix grace with works, we’re
walking on dangerous ground. Receive
grace by faith plus nothing and then bring forth the works of righteousness.
I heard a story about a wealthy father
and his son who loved great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke out
the son went to war. There he died trying to rescue another soldier. Upon
receiving the news of his son’s death, the father grieved deeply for his son.
After about a month there was a knock on his door. It was the soldier who was
saved by his son. After expressing his sorrow and the valor of the son, the
solider handed a large package to the father.
When the father opened the package it was a large portrait of his son
painted by the soldier-armature artist. As he looked at his son’s eyes the
father’s own eyes welled up in tears. Gaining his composure quickly the father
offered to pay the artist for his work. The soldier quickly refused by saying "Oh,
no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father proudly hung his son’s portrait next to the
expensive arts of Van Gogh and Picasso.
Several months later, the father also died
and his whole estate went up for auction. The auctioneer started, “We’ll start by bidding with the picture of
the son. Who will bid for this painting?” There was silence. A bidder spoke
up with irritation, “We didn’t come for
the painting of the son; we’re here for the Van Gogh.” The auctioneer
continued, “The son! The son! Who will
take the son?” Finally a voice came from the back of the room. It was the
longtime gardener of the family. He said, “I
can afford only $10 for the painting of the son.” Excited, the auctioneer
began to shout, “We have $10, who will
bid $20!” There was no taker. Finally a bidder said, “Give it to him for $10, we’re here to see the masters.” The auctioneer
pounded the gavel, “Going once, going
twice, sold for $10.” With a sigh of relief the crowd shouted, “Now let’s get on with the real masterpiece
items.” The auctioneer replied, “Sorry,
the auction is over.” You see, there was a stipulation by the owner that I
couldn’t reveal before. His will said, “Whoever
takes the son, gets it all.”
My friend, don’t spend your whole life
chasing a Van Gogh or a Picasso. The most valuable things in life are friends,
family, health, relationships and God’s eternal gift of Salvation. God has made
provision for our every need through Christ. Whoever receives His Son, gets it
all. Don’t try to achieve, just receive. When you accept God’s free gift of salvation
- love, joy, peace, promotion, health and prosperity will come chasing after
you. The measure of success in our lives
is not determined by what we achieve but what we’re willing to receive from
God. In Him there’s fullness of everything. Don’t spend the rest of your life
trying to achieve; simply receive His grace by faith. Remember, whoever has the
Son, has it all!
Click Here to Spread the Message of Hope: www.buildinternational.org
Book Sandy Anderson as Speaker: Call
972 800 4346, Email: buildinternational@sbcglobal.net
No comments:
Post a Comment