Lent March 13, 2015
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10 and [God] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. — Ephesians 2:1-10
We did nothing to deserve the love of God and there is nothing we can do to earn it. God is love. All people are God’s chosen people. The concept that God loves us unconditionally is very hard to grasp in a society that is dominated by competition. We were, however, not created for competition with each other, but to do good works together as the Body of Christ. I do not question that part of being made in the image of God is the desire to improve our skills, increase our productivity as individuals and in teams. It seems to me that the most outstanding athletes are the ones who constantly strive to beat their own best.
What I, at times, and others of us might find, if we really examine our lives, is that we are fans rather than players in the Kingdom of God. God calls us to be players. Those who take the field as members of the Body of Christ must be well schooled in the ways of Christ, must practice them at every opportunity, must find our niche and hone it to what Paul calls perfection. We must be ready to participate at a moment’s notice whether we are on the first team or warming the bench. And we must enable all our fellow players to do the same thing. We are called to be one in Christ.
Our ability to be the best that we can be starts with our accepting the gift of grace that is the unconditional love of God. We need nothing more to make us each whole. Wholeness enables oneness.
Prayer: Draw us in the Spirit’s tether, for when humbly in your name two or three are met together, you are in the midst of them. Alleluia! Alleluia! Touch we now your garment’s hem.* Amen.