Saturday, April 09, 2011

CARRIED BY GRACE


“Who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:16)


There are people who speak of themselves as self-made people – claiming they achieved success and their position of authority by pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. They say they did it single-handedly – without receiving help or favours from anyone else. As a result they are very proud of themselves.


Of course, no person is self-existent or self-made. Without the help and support of mentors and colleagues and countless other people and forces, they would have achieved very little in life.


The Christian disciple acknowledges with gratitude that if he has achieved anything at all in this world, it is only due to the inspiration, grace and strength that have been given to him by Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.


Furthermore, once he has declared this faith and conviction, he remains constantly aware that there are further spiritual heights that need to be reached; challenges that need to be met; and a life that needs to be lived to the glory and honour of God the Father. When he surveys the road that still lies ahead, the disciple might still shrink back from the unknown. God has given him a vision of what a life in Christ really means and as a result he feels completely unequipped to strive toward that goal and to realize that vision.


The victorious life is possible for a Christian only when it is lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Without His enabling grace, it becomes a struggle that is constantly overshadowed by failure and frustration.

There is nothing that God has judged good for us
that He has not given us the means to accomplish,
both in the natural and moral world
~ Edmund Burke ~

(From A ROAD IN THE WILDERNESS – Solly Ozrovech)

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