It's All Grace...Romans 4:

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”  Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.  But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,--Romans 4:4-5

Abraham was pronounced righteous.  How? By keeping the law? No...the law had not yet been given...so not the law...I love that!! Neither was it for anything he did.  He had not left Ur of the Chaldees, he had not offered up Isaac, his son...so not of works...more good news...but what does the Scripture say?  It says he was accounted righteous because he believed God.  That's it! Good news for me and for you and for all of us fallen human beings. It was not work that Abraham did or else as the Scripture rightly says it would have been debt not grace.  

Who gets justified...not the righteous...not the Pharisee...but the ungodly...the guy who knows he is nothing! While we were yet sinners...enemies of God...Christ died for us.  He died for me before I could even figure out a way to make Him try to want to.  And He bears with us and suffers long with us as we try to do this life on our own..as we try to live our lives..the very lives He gave us...on our own and for ourselves until maybe that day comes when we realize we can't and we look to Him by faith and believe His promises.  Then He pours His grace out and our sin is now put on Christ, His Son's account  and Christ's righteousness on our account. Wow!

Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

There are very few people of whom I think I might die for..and none of them are my enemies.  Girls, when you truly understand this...Christ died for us when we were still His enemies...when we did not love Him, when we esteemed Him lightly...your desire will be to show others the One who has been so good and gracious to you.  You will find yourself responding with His kind of love to those He has placed in your path.  Your desire will be to know Him better through His word, to pray, to worship...not because you think it is going to earn you something or because you think you have to, because if you understand God's grace you know that is not possible.  It will be because you are amazed at His goodness and so filled with gratitude that the overwhelming desire of your heart will be to be more like Him...to be conformed/transformed into His image.  You will not read the bible, pray, worship or do anything "for the Lord" because you have to...you will do it because you get to...because you are blessed to have the opportunity. 

Love 

Mom