Sunday 27 October 2013

Strong in grace



You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.          2 Tim. 2.1


What is the grace that Paul speaks of? In the previous chapter he reminds us that God has saved us and called us to a holy life, not through any act or deserving on our part but because of his own purposes and grace. God has a purpose for each soul He saves. He saves us in grace – His exquisite love for us that compels Him to reach out and draw us to Him. He also equips us through this same grace to do whatever it is that He desires us to do.

The grace of salvation is found in Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us. Without Christ we would still be estranged from God. Jesus brought us back. This is God’s grace in action. It is also in Jesus that we find the grace to follow the direction that God call us in. His direction for us may be to lead thousands into the kingdom, or it may be to be a sincere friend and a good neighbour. Whatever God calls us to be, whether it appears great or small in our own eyes, fulfilment and contentment will not come without obedience to His call. If His purpose for me is small in my thinking, it behoves me not to hanker after bigger things. May I be content to be the person God wants me to be.

The writer to the Hebrews rightly encourages me to fix my eyes on Jesus. I look to Him, and only to Him. He will fill me and sustain me. He will lead me and guide me. He will empower and strengthen me. Yes, the grace I find in Jesus will make me strong. He is my strength and my shield. In Him I can do anything.

I’m not sure whether Paul’s word – initially to Timothy, but also to me – is a statement of fact or a suggestion of encouragement. Perhaps it is both. Paul says, maybe, that I will be strong in the grace that I find in Jesus and he could well be urging me to seek that grace. It would be foolish of me not to receive what he says, to know where my strength lies and to actively pursue the source and envelop myself in Him.




Lord God,

I echo the words of the old chorus and say, “All to Jesus I surrender.” The grace of God is so powerfully manifest in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, You are my reconciliation with the Father. You are the facilitator of my life in Him. I seek You in the fullness of surrender; I declare Your lordship in every part of my being and over every area of my living. May I know the full extent of Your grace? Take me, if You will, and make me wholly Yours. My desire is to live as You would have me live. May all that I am and anything that I do be founded in You. Intertwine me with you such that I might sense You in every fibre of my being.

May I live with You and for You. Guide me such that Your light shines forth from me. Touch others through me. Use me to draw them to You. As I receive and enjoy Your love let me willingly share it with others, in Your precious name I ask.                                              Amen.

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