Ephesians 2.6-14--
"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility"
it strikes me that God chooses to emphasize this point- "and this grace you have received- it's NOT from within yourself" and it's not a result of something you DID or DO. when He says 'not by works', that word 'works' means "act, deed, doing, labor, work"...
it doesn't originate from within you- it originates from outside of you, it is wholly separate from you. it is a GIFT to be received, completely apart from ANY actions or works you may perform...or not perform. both now & forever.
i wonder what effect it may have on us & on the world around us if we all took time periodically to re-evaluate our motives/actions/thoughts/desires to see how much striving & earning & performance we were taking part in- whether consciously or unconsciously? well, personally, i'll tell you that i am continually walking through repentance and change in this realm.
and, as it turns out, God has not once been overwhelmed or ill-equipped to free us of this tricky, oftentimes deep-rooted stuff...
i was talking to a dear friend last night & she was sharing about how the Lord's been kind enough to reveal some deep, deep lies in her heart- roots of false thinking that have affected how she sees herself & how she interacts with God and other humans.
and i've been amazed, over & over the last few years, by how much humans battle this [oftentimes unseen/unacknowledged] lie that goes a little something like this 'eventually the people in my life that i care about most will walk away- either because i suddenly bore them or i'm not lively enough or funny enough or deep enough...whatever the 'reason' we may allow to be conjured up within ourselves- the root of the deception is all the same- its a performance/earning/striving mentality. and it has a way of affecting so much of who we are, IF we allow it to...
another reality that strikes me in the Bible passage above is the truth "Christ Himself is our peace."
peace. the real, bottom-line thing we're all seeking out. the treasure. because, even with all the riches of the world or the 'perfect' mate or the ideal job...without underlying peace- the gig is up. it's soul-rest, peace, steadiness/confidence/security in Someone stable that we all, every. single. human. CRAVES.
our real peace is a Person.
the Way.
the Truth.
the Life.
the Peace.
a Person. offering Himself to us daily. as an unmerited, undeserved, un-earnable gift.
now THAT is something worth being giddy about.
every moment of every day.
we are not of "those without hope in the world, separate, foreigners from God" any longer.
God, Your grace is far outside my grasp.
yet so close when i just hold my hands open & receive.
thank You.
