Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


3.27.2007  

Why We're Saved

Today's chapel was one that has been much anticipated. Dr. John Piper preached to us, the students, staff, and faculty of Southern Seminary and Boyce College, and many others, from 2 Corinthians. As I pondered the implications of the word he preached to us, I was reminded of Paul's writing to the Ephesians. In that letter, Paul tells his readers that God "predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace." Later, he also says that 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 surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

We were saved to praise the glory of His grace, and in the ages to come, that grace will be shown to us as being surpassingly rich. Said differently, the grace, the very reason for which we praise Him, will be revealed to us more and more and more forever, which means that we'll never lack for a reason to praise Him.

Ever.

But what of right now? Yes, even now. The joy of faith that Dr. Piper spoke of was not a joy that will be experienced only in heaven. Rather, it is a joy that has begun even now, even in this world of sin and shame, a world fraught with humanity's sad and tragic plight, a veritable blight on God's glorious creation. The joy of faith spoken of is a joy that causes me to ask, "Is God really that good? Is His mercy really true?" I wonder and I doubt because I find so often that my joy is a bitter facade, a fleeting emotion based not on Christ's mercy, but on how I think I feel.

As I thought about God's mercy, His grace to us in Christ, I realized anew that if there's ever any reason for me to smile, ever any reason for me to be happy, ever any reason to even look forward to my next breath, it is because of God's mercy toward me in His beloved Son. That and that alone is why I wake in the morning, why I desire breath, why I desire life, and why I do not fear death. It is why I will, forevermore, praise Him to the glory of His grace.

posted by Bolo | 2:36 PM
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