Tuesday, June 10, 2008

4 Minute Devotions: More than We Deserve

God's grace is astonishing. Even although we do not deserve it, He makes us co-heirs with Christ. A short reflection on Romans 8 v 17.

Podcast version here

Evelyn and I had to sign a couple of financial forms the other day, designating our children as co-heirs. I guess we’ve reached that time of life when we have to think carefully about our future. It’s not easy to process internally, because it involves thinking about a time when we will no longer be in the world and our children will continue with their own lives. What we wanted to ensure was that our finances would be shared equally amongst them, should anything ever happen to us.

Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

It’s not a very happy subject for a devotional, but it is an important one. What we leave to our children expresses how much we love them. Now a stewardship orientated pastor would use this lesson to get people to thinking about how much they should leave to the church, as an expression of their love of God, but that’s not what this text is about.

What Paul is describing is the grace of God. Think about it: Jesus does all the hard work of laying down His life for our sins, of giving up everything so that we might be forgiven. You would think that because Jesus does this, He would inherit all of God’s blessings. And yet God’s grace goes beyond that, because He makes us co-heirs with Christ.

Some people don’t get it when they first glance at this passage. They don’t understand how profound a blessing this is. We, who are wretched and unholy compared to God and Christ, become co-heirs of everything that God has to offer. We, who once were sinful creatures, become the joint heirs of heaven, earth, and the whole of creation. It is astounding. It is astonishing. It is amazing.

Prayer: Lord God, we know that we do not deserve Your grace. We perfectly understand how unworthy and unholy we actually are. And yet, through the abundance of Your love and by Christ’s sacrifice, we are destined to become the heirs of everything You have made. This is so remarkable that mere words cannot express our delight. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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