"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"....No matter how long you've been a Christan, no matter how well you know the Bible, you're still a sinner...I'm still a sinner...we're all still sinners. Sometimes when you've been a believer for a long time, it's easy to start feeling superior to others, to think that you would never do the things that you see others doing. And while we do grow, and while the allure of sinfulness does fade as our faith in God grows deeper and stronger, we should never feel prideful in that growth. We are what we are today due to the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We should be ready to reach out to the rest of the "all" and share with them the ability to have a changed life through the grace of Jesus, a life that is available to ALL.
Paul says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." If we're really considering others better than ourselves, than we are also going to consider others even more deserving of God's grace---or at least, just as deserving, as we are. We should never think of anyone, no matter what they've done, as outside of the reach of God's love. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And that all includes you and me and every other person on the face of the earth. We remember and we are thankful that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
In Romans 12:3, Paul admonishes us, "And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you."
I like the way The Message states this verse as well, "I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him."
God does indeed bring His goodness to us...share His goodness with all who you are given the opportunity, and then thank Him for the gift of being able to share, because you have been brought out of darkness into light, out of sinfulness into grace, and out of death into life. Hallelujah!
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I'm so encouraged by seeing that people from all around the world are viewing this blog and pray that it is an encouragement to learn or grow in the knowledge of the love of God expressed through Jesus Christ. I would SO love it if more of you would post comments so I could hear your thoughts as well. If you are having problems posting comments, can you please e-mail me at janicehodges1356@gmail.com and I will make sure everything is designed so that comments may be added as easily as possible. Wishing you a wonderful start to a new week!
It is a good way to start the week. Knowing that God's Grace has brought me into a life where all of my sins are forgiven. I am grateful for God's gift of Salvation and Eternal Life. I realize that I have a responsibility to lead my life guided by God's Word. The Holy Spirit lives inside of me. It is with the Power of the Holy Spirit that allows me to speak to God and to thank God for the Blessings he has given me. I pray that today I might be able to share God's Love. God's Goodness lives today in my heart and in the hearts of all those who believe in His Glory.
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