I am sure some of you were disappointed last Saturday as I was when our beloved Gators lost their first football game of the season to Texas A&M. I am sure some were thinking that our goals for this season of beating Georgia to win the SEC East, then to win the SEC Championship by beating Alabama, and then to win our 4th national championship have been lost, or at least severely damaged by this disappointing loss! Isn’t it unfortunate that reaching any football team’s ultimate football goals can depend on weather, the play of just a few players who may still be very inexperienced in the game, a coach’s bonehead decision, having 21 players get COVID-19 on the trip to Texas, and even the erratic bounces of this funny shaped pigskin!! If only there was some way we could be guaranteed of the final result we desire!!! That would sure make it a lot easier to watch the games knowing the end result was secure no matter how bad our team might be playing during the game. Fortunately, this is the case in one aspect of our lives.
Ephesians 2:8-10 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We can know and find comfort always that we are saved by the gift of grace that God has shown to each of us, and that we will reach the ultimate goal of eternal life through our belief in Him. It doesn’t matter that we have bad days, that we fumble in our lives on a regular basis, and are undeserving of the ultimate victory we receive when we finally pass on from this earth. Fortunately for us, we are not judged on our earthly works.
Galatians 2:16 – know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Keeping the law cannot possibly lead to salvation because only one person on earth has ever been sinless, Jesus Christ, so we know we are doomed by the law. Rather than a cure for sin, the law is a mirror to reflect our sin.
Romans 3:20 – Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
So a question asked by many non-Christians is why work? Why not just take it easy? The answer is easy – if we have a true God filled heart, we want to work, we don’t want to sit back and take it easy. The work we do is not a burden, it is our service to Him through the love filled heart He has given us. It is easy to be joyful about giving service to others when God has filled your heart with love.
Romans 7:6 – But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
As a saved Christian, we serve in the new way of the Spirit, which means we have a lifestyle that wants to serve, and to serve joyfully and with a heart of love!!
Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
As we may be anxious for the remaining season of our favorite football team, or for the continuing impact of the coronavirus on our country and world, or the upcoming Presidential election, or any of the other earthly thoughts that can weigh us down, we can find relief, peace, and comfort knowing that the ultimate result for us is guaranteed – just as it is stated in Ephesians 2:8-10!!
So enjoy the weekend and your loved ones, and have peace!! TGIF!
Amen!