Works

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. -Psalm 62:1

I believe in works.  James said it quite well when, out of frustration I suspect, he penned, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Visit James 2:17

It is. But.

This snippet of a Psalm by David is an early reminder.  Works are good, but they will not save us. Never have. Never will.

Although it is written in a completely different context than those of us that are Christ trusters and believers might think and see through our lenses, still what he says rings true. David seems to be writing in the context of Absalom’s (David’s son) rebellion against him, the beauty of the Psalms, including this one, is that they can and have been applied to people’s circumstances throughout history.

David had done all he could to get out of this trouble. Finally he admits that ‘from him alone comes my salvation.’ 

At a lot of us, OK, mainly me, plus a mess of other people, have spent too much time trying to secure our salvation, thinking that if only we could work/pray/worship/believe/harder, we’ll get there.  Nothing wrong with any of those things, as I said, I believe in works.

But they won’t get you there.  If you can claim the name of Christian in any way shape or form, please know that he work has already been done.  As Paul wrote in Ephesians “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Visit Ephesians 2:8,9)

Let me repeat these words, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Or as David wrote some 1000 years earlier, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation…”

Yes, I believe in works, we need to do them. But I believe in and trust in Jesus.  Nothing is more important.

And let the works spring from that.

Mercy

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…. 1 Peter 1:3

                            

I needed this passage this morning, so I was very grateful to read this when it popped up in my email.  Like many of you, my heart has been aching over the events in Oregon this week; an area of the country I’m quite familiar with.

There is always, after an atrocity like this, the want to push for political action – from all directions.  I even caught myself thinking, “We’ve got to do something.” Maybe something needs to be done, but I don’t fit in well with my denomination’s usual pushes for gun control on the issue.  And I’m not convinced that arming every living thing, including my dog, is the answer either. 

Just kidding. I don’t own a dog.

People on both sides of the issue want a reaction to a problem. And I really don’t blame them.  And both are in some way acknowledging that there is a deeper problem that we are feeling helpless about, hence the need for such reactions.

The passage above addresses the helplessness, and ultimately provides the answer.  I am simply convinced that those perpetrating the violence have not experienced any sort of lasting hope in their lives.  We are all good for temporary hopes (sometimes seen in political actions), but there has to be a longer solutions to this.  Lasting hope.

Peter writes, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  As someone who has experienced and continues to experience “his great mercy,” my life is filled with “a living hope” that no temporary answers will ever evoke, political or otherwise.  The email this morning just drove it home, again, for me.

As we, as a nation, continue to dismiss our need for God, hope is fading.  I’m persuaded too many people are now living lives void of optimism; and without hope, life, including their own, becomes cheap.   So, here is my reaction to the shootings in Oregon.  I will continue to live a life of hope, as found in Jesus. And will intensify my efforts to share his “great mercy” to those around me, for one never knows when you might reach someone who is feeling hopeless in a world that is moving away from hope.  And Lord, we all are in need of His mercy. All.

And to that, it is available in quantities that are unimaginable ‘through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’ 

Mercy, for you, for me, for any that will accept it.  There is the hope. And that is what I intend to be about.  

How about you?