Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“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.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, August 24, 2019
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
Ooh! Ooh! Look what I did! I used to be a big show-off. Even into my young adulthood. I loved when people pointed out how gifted I was, and in my church community, I enjoyed my reputation as someone who did good works. I let it feed my ego and secretly felt superior to others. Yikes! Nothing I have is my own! Not even my faith! Paul writes here that faith is a gift from God through unearned grace, not by any merit of mine. It is only in later years that I began to develop a modicum of humility, and then be overwhelmed with gratitude for what God has given me. It is this gratitude, now, that directs my “good works,” rather than any promise of reward, for that reward has already been given. Thanks be to God!
Do I do good things out of gratitude to God or to receive recognition? Can it be both?
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