I recently watched an awesome movie with my wife called, “If Only I Can Imagine”. I recommend this movie but be prepared to wipe away tears. No spoiler alert here as I want you to watch this movie yourself. It is a perfect example of the process at work in our lives that can result in a desirable outcome.
The word process means a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a desirable end. In reality, we are all on a journey to an end. If we continue down a certain path taking wrong steps along the way, the end is tragic. But we can change our direction by taking new steps. The whole process may take many steps to achieve your goal but I submit to you a simple two step process.
God’s grace is given to us all. Without divine guidance, we never reach our desired destiny. Now, us humans are given a free will. We can choose to go it alone where failure is the final result. We can try over and over again, but the end result is still the same. However, we can choose to take action by partnership with God’s grace. That action is called faith. Step one in the process is the gift of God’s grace which we have no control over but is given freely. Step two in the process is our faith which is totally in our control.
Ephesians 2:8 states that we are saved by God’s grace because of our faith. I believe faith may be a series of actions needed to reach the point where we will accept His grace. Air is all around us and thanks to our body’s action, we breath. Grace is also all around us, but unlike our lungs that work through the miracle of life, we must go on faith to accept His grace.
Like in the movie, we can struggle most of our lives trying to achieve our goals and become bitter when we fail. However, we can choose a simpler approach. We can eliminate a whole bunch of unnecessary wrong steps and go on faith where we will be saved by His grace. Salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something we possess or did to earn. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. These good things are the way we live our lives according to God’s plan. (Ep 2:9-10)
We are rewarded for our faith, which yields good deeds, not by our works alone. Our works alone may provide short term recognition but in the long term leads to a dead end.
T