Devotional - week of October 12, 2008

WE KNOW WHAT GRACE CAN DO

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

The life of victory that comes through experiencing our union with Christ is called grace in Romans 5-6. In Romans 8 it is called walking in the Spirit. When one is experiencing his union with Christ, he is filled with the Holy Spirit and he is living in grace. He is experiencing the ultimate in living a successful life.

Think of a 10 year old boy whose parents take him and his siblings to Sunday school and church every Sunday. The family prays before meals. They read the Bible together and pray together.

Any Christian would think that the boy and his family would be greatly blessed in such a healthy approach to life—and they would be. However, if what has just been written is considered by that family the ultimate in Christian living, there is something more for the 10 year old boy along with his siblings and their parents. That something more is being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is called living by God’s grace.

Suppose in the inspiring atmosphere of the family setting mentioned the parents would be experiencing and teaching their children the message of grace. The ten year old boy and his siblings would learn early in life how to deal with the temptations that are inevitable. They would know how to have victory over sin.

They would be equipped to experience God in the most intimate way. They would learn to look to God for guidance and strength in all areas of life. They would know how to face the challenges of relating to people and facing responsibilities in divine wisdom and strength. The young lad and his family would be taught how to deal with such things as worry and fear. They would know how to trust God in all things. They would know how to have a joyful heart.

The ten year old boy and his siblings would have the best advice and greatest enabling in all areas of life as they mature into their teenage and adult years.

Our greatest contribution to another person is to lead him to Christ. Our greatest contribution to one who has received Christ is to tell him about the life of God’s grace.

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