The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
Oh how our Lord loves us! If the Lord were to grade us , on our own merits we would all fail. If He were to give us a test, we’d all get an F.
Paul reminds us:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
As “students” and disciples, we cannot grade above an F without the Grace of God. We spend our entire lives striving to be the best in what we do, in our relationships, jobs, with our children, and much more. What is our best?
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 NIV
Our grade would be a failing one, if not for Christ Jesus. We can strive all we want, but without his grace and mercy, we fail even after the “curve.”
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 NIV
But here is the good news:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 NIV
For that reason alone, in Christ, we all get an A. Everyone gets the same curve, everyone gets the same grade. We get an A, once we’ve accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation.
While we can continue to strive to achieve, we can do nothing outside of Him, absolutely nothing without Him. For Christ is the great teacher, rabboni, and thru Him we all pass with flying colors!
His grace and mercy are enough!
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV
The love of our Lord gives us a passing grade!. In His own words God says:
“Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. Fear not, for I am with you” Isaiah 43:4-5 NKJV
We are all straight A students in Christ! Let us never stop learning!
Greet one another kindly, and as brothers.
Barnabas
Special thanks to Barnabas for this guest submission.