"That Must Be Him!"
The ongoing discovery of our Lord's infinite goodness most results from His love revealed through us rather than to us.
"It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
This is not to discount or minimize the wonder of how gracious God has been to us in personal terms. "I will praise Thee because Thou hast heard me and art become my salvation" exulted the Psalmist in the realization of how good the Lord had been to him (Psalm 118:21). Eternity will not be long enough for born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to full thank our Heavenly Father for the abundance of grace and mercy He has bestowed upon us. A primary hallmark of every believer involves the awareness that we are the recipients of a grace that by definition means undeserved and unexpected favor. Wonder indeed, and wonderful as we grow in the realization that God gives to us everything Christ deserves because on the cross of Calvary, He gave to Christ everything we deserve. "He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21).
However, the salvation of the Lord Jesus does not merely result in forgiven sinners, but in loving saints. God does not leave us in self-centeredness when we believe, but rather inhabits us with His own character and nature. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us… Charity (love) seeketh not her own" (Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13:5). Graces results in the work of the Holy Spirit to turn us inside out, as it were. He works in us and walks in us to motivate and empower unselfish devotion to God and others. "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). As He does, we realize that we think thoughts, speak words, perform actions, and make sacrifices that would never begin to occur were it not for His blessed presence in us. We play a role in the relationship as we trust and submit to Him. We know, however, that the inward and outward expressions of grace we witness originate not in ourselves, but in Another. As such glory occurs, usually in small, everyday matters, we behold the love of God as it moves through us to honor the Lord Jesus and bless others. Yet again, we wonder as we discover the marvelous goodness of God in ways that do not leave us in self-centeredness, but liberate us unto the selflessness of His devotion to others. "It pleased God… to reveal His Son in me" (Galatians 1:15; 16).
What marvels of grace will we witness today as we devote ourselves to the Christ who dwells and walks in us? (II Corinthians 6:16). God only knows. But of this we can be certain: as we trust and yield to the Lord Jesus, we will discover how amazingly good He is. We will realize that in one so prone to selfishness apart from Christ, His presence within us turns us inside out to selflessly love others. "That must be Him!" we declare as we freely give the grace we have freely received. It is Him, and because the love of God known as it comes to us shines even more brightly as it moves through us.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
(I Corinthians 15:10)
Weekly Memory Verse
"A man that hath friends must show himself friendly."
(Proverbs 18:24)
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