Look what I did?

 

The Gospel can be confusing to some if it is expressed like this:

“There is such a thing as having one’s soul kept in perfect peace, now and here in this life; and childlike trust in God is the key to its attainment. We cannot earn it; we can do nothing but ask for it and receive it. It is the gift of God in Christ Jesus” then adds this: “God can bestow His gift only on the fully consecrated soul, and it is to be received by faith.”

If the gift cannot be earned, and the Bible says faith is an unearned gift (Ephesians 2:8-9), then how can a person make themselves fully consecrated with the faith to be able to receive it?

Reading the beginning statement and then the ending statement in today’s devotional shows how much we sinners want to take credit for having Jesus in our lives by saying it was our acceptance of the gift that did it, rather than the gift itself that saved us and give us a heart to say yes.

Of course in the realm of ordinary life, if I am offered a gift and say no thanks, it will not be mine. And if I take it, I cannot brag that it was deserved. I must acknowledge a gift is about the generosity of the giver, yet when it comes to the gift of God, how easy to take credit. People say, “I accepted Christ” as if that is the reason we are saved.

In contrast, the Scriptures say that becoming a recipient happens because of the gift, not because we earned it and can brag about it:

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

Part of the gift of grace is being made willing to receive the gift. Just as God works in Christians to do His will (Philippians 2:13) He must work in unbelievers because “None is righeous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God…” (Romans 3) No one would say yes if God did not change our thinking and make us willing to respond to His offer and receive the gift. Jesus makes it plain:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16)

Everything in our salvation is a gift. From beginning to end, God is the giver and we are the receivers; and it is not given to those who do great things or are seeking (none do that), but to those who are called and blessed with the gift of faith, even the gift of seeking.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11–13)

Many believe, as do I, that faith in Christ and new life from Christ happen in the same instant and are both gifts of His grace.

The obvious question is then, “Why does God not save everyone?” But that is the wrong question. It should be, “Why does God save anyone?” All sin and fall short. None deserve even the least of His mercies. The great mystery of salvation is that it happens — even to people who will take credit for what Almighty God has done, even those who think they are special or somehow more worthy, even those who know they are not.

I know the importance of receptivity to the will of God and that my efforts to be godly often are motivated by selfish desires to be important or noticed or worthy in some way. It takes a long time to realize that He is not interested in what I do, nor does He reward my self-centered desires or efforts.

Instead, He works in me that I might realize that His goal is that I become like Jesus, totally surrendered to Him. He bears all my burdens, takes care of all my needs. He wants obedience for my sake — because sin only ruins, never nurtures or is good for me. One day, when I see Jesus face to face, I will be like Him. In the meantime, I’m not to rob Him of His glory by claiming, “Look what I did.”

PRAY: Lord, if I have a receptive attitude, it is because of You. If I am trusting You and wanting to live for You, it is because of You. If You were not in my life, I know what I would be thinking and doing. All good gifts are from You and for my good, to change me into what gives You glory and gives me joy and peace. Your salvation is both mystery and incredible blessing — and totally none of my doing. Thank You.

An amazing gift . . .

This past Christmas brought a surprise. I’ve learned much about computers and use one every day. However, I am the target of my children’s teasing for hanging on to my old flip phone. They also give me a bad time for hardly ever having it turned on. Maybe my husband took pity on me, but for whatever reason, he gave me a smart phone.

I must admit that my first thought was I don’t want a smart phone, but I received it with a smile and learned the basics (it is still smarter than I am). I even leave it on all day.

Like that phone, taking a gift into our possession is vital toward making that gift ours. If I refused to receive it and leave it with the giver, it would not be mine.

(Jesus) came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11–13)

In today’s devotional, Tozer expresses concern for religious activity that causes us to think that people are turning to God. He says, as does the above passage, that this activity is not an indication of genuine spirituality. I agree, for I know several people who talk the talk and are actively involved in a church, but they have no personal relationship with Christ. They have never received Him and do not have that life that He gives by grace through faith.

John also wrote other criteria for being a genuine Christian. Besides believing in Him, he includes the need for having new life: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” (1 John 5:1)

Receiving Jesus is equivalent to receiving new life. It is His life, given freely to all who will accept it. This is also equivalent to being born again. One of my ‘religious’ friends equates this new life with eternal life in heaven. In other words, new life will be a gift from God after she dies. However, Jesus said otherwise:

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) and “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) The Bible affirms that the kingdom of God begins here. While it is complete in eternity, only those who have it now can enjoy it then!

That is, new life, redeemed life, eternal life, come at the beginning of faith when Jesus is received. He is that life. Unless we have it, we cannot perceive God’s kingdom nor enter it. Tozer says, “A sanctified life is a life conformed to the Scriptures in every particular. It commences with our hearts; it next reaches to our ears, and then it is accomplished in our feet.”

The idea of receiving a gift is simple: it is presented with outstretched arms and humbly taken with gratitude. Why then the idea that it needs to be earned, deserved, or left untouched? No one can earn it or deserve it, and unless we reach out and take it, it cannot be ours.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I change the pronouns to make this personal. I have received You and life. What an amazing gift. Yet You offer to me opportunities every day to rely on the gift of Your grace and power. Humility and receptivity are just as important for those daily tasks and challenges as they were that day when I first received You. Your Word tells me that in the same way, I need to continually receive what You offer and walk with You in that newness of life.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6–7)

Receiving the King

When we were in Scotland, we drove up to the gates of the royal castle near Braemar. The flag was flying so we knew the Queen was there. However, when the guards stepped forward with their rifles up, we were not brave enough to ask if she was receiving visitors. So we turned aside and drove on.

This idea of a person receiving someone into their home is the closest I can think of to what it means to receive Jesus. Yet receiving Jesus is far more than welcoming Him inside for a visit over tea and scones. These verses present the thought . . . 

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11–13)

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. (Colossians 2:6)

Much of what follows, I’ve personalized from Spurgeon’s delightful thoughts for today. As he says, my life of faith is represented in the Bible as receiving. This action implies the very opposite of merit. Receiving is simply the acceptance of a gift, in this case a gift offered by God to me, a sinner.

Think of how the earth drinks in rain, how the sea receives streams, how the night accepts starlight. So I am like that before God, giving nothing (for I have nothing to give) and receiving freely God’s grace. I am not by nature a well or a stream, but more like a cistern into which living water flows, an empty vessel into which God pours salvation.

This idea of receiving implies a sense of realization. That is, receiving Christ is not an imaginary transaction like trying to receive a shadow. Jesus Christ is substantial, a reality. Receiving Him as God’s gift of grace through faith means that Christ has shown Himself as reality. Before He came and before faith, Jesus was only a name, a person who lived a long time ago, His life only history to me. But when He arrived at the door of my heart and I received Him, I experienced the reality of His person. He is a living Savior, not a myth or ancient history.

Yet there is more. Receiving also means taking possession of the gift. It becomes my own, appropriated to myself. When I received Jesus, He became my Savior and so much a part of me that neither life nor death or anything else can take Him away. He promises to never leave or forsake me. This relationship is now both real and eternal. God’s free gift, once received, is never taken back. Instead, He stays in my life, transforming it to be like His own life.

Salvation could be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life. I have not only received these blessings in a spiritual sense, but have received Christ Jesus Himself. He gave me life when I was dead in sin and separated from God. He also gave me forgiveness and imputed righteousness. All of what it means to becoming a Christian is precious, but these gifts cannot be separated from Christ Himself. He is the greatest gift of all. He was poured into me, gave me new life, gave me Himself. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “When Christ who is my life appears, then I also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). What more could I need?

Spurgeon adds this magnifying thought — since heaven itself cannot contain Him, what a heart-full Jesus must be. Heart-full indeed! 

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Lord, Your Word, these thoughts and the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ fill my heart with praise and worship. Yet I know that receiving You implies even more. I’m also to walk in the same manner that I received You — always remembering that You gift me each day with Yourself that I might do Your will. Yes, I appreciated all that You have done. I repent of my sins each day, just as I did that day. I receive Your grace and strength each day, just as that first day when receiving You. However, each day, even each moment, needs to begin with the realization that You showed up at the gate of my life and by grace I, a mere sinner, received You, the King of glory.

(photo credit)