Who's Been Good To Whom?
by
Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
As I once left a restaurant, the cashier and part owner asked how
“the pastor” was feeling. I replied: “Fine. The Lord has been
very good to me.”
With this she began to tell how good the Lord had been to her.
She had come to America from Greece and had raised a family and
prospered here until now, with her family, she owned and operated a
good-sized restaurant. “So”, she said, “the Lord has been good
to me”, and after a moment’s hesitation, “but then, I’ve
been good to Him too!”
Imagine! How He needed her! It is sad, but this
is the low conception of God held by many religious, but unsaved
people. They entertain the strange notion that if they put a few
dollars into the Church, God ought to bless them — or the still
more foolish notion that if they are good to others, He
ought to be good to them!
But He owes us nothing just because we may have been good
to others! And even if we sought only to please Him, this
would not make Him our debtor. He does not need us. There is nothing
we can do to enrich Him. This is why Ephesians 2:8-10
declares that salvation is “not of yourselves”, and “not
of works, lest any man should boast”.
No, we cannot gain His favor by “being good to Him”. Yet, it
is true that His children will be rewarded for faithfulness
to Him. This is not a dispensational matter; it is a promise that God
has always held out to His people (Dan.12:3; Matt. 25:21; ICor.4:5;
IThes.2:19; IITim.4:7,8; IPet.5:1). But such rewards are “rewards
of grace”.
Let us who know Him, then, seek above all else to be faithful
in our service to Him, not to gain acceptance with God, for
He has already “made us accepted in the Beloved”
(Eph.1:6), but rather out of love and gratitude to Him who gave
Himself for us.
Transformed By
Grace -
Kevin Sadler
Transformed By Grace
#1 - Unity in Christ
Transformed By Grace #2 - One Body in
Christ
Transformed By Grace #3 - The Apostle of
Grace
Transformed By Grace #4 - The Gifts of
Christ
Posted By Cecil and
Connie Spivey
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