Friday, April 12, 2024

Jesus upset all the social orders of his day. He elevated the outcast and humbled the haughty, healed the sick and rejected the “healthy.”

Jesus was countercultural, and the religious leaders of his day didn’t like it. They liked the feel of those tickets Ben discussed in his message. The ones that represented each rule followed and good deed performed. A big stack of tickets was a reminder of how much better they were than everyone else.

Reading through the Gospels might tempt you to believe Jesus hated the religious, but that’s not exactly true. He disliked the attitude of superiority and pride that people who have it “all together” tended to exhibit. Jesus saw the humble and broken and knew they would be willing to exchange their brokenness for the gift of grace and forgiveness that he alone could offer. He knew the proud would want to point to all they had done to earn grace, but grace doesn’t work that way.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus demonstrates that all the good things people do to earn God’s favor are useless. The prophet Isaiah calls these acts of righteousness “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). This applies to us too. Our best efforts are not good enough. We will fail if we try to earn our way into God’s good graces.

Ephesians 2:8-9
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

We must come to Jesus empty. We only have ourselves to offer because we have nothing else of value. We become a living sacrifice, and in sacrificing ourselves, we receive his grace. It’s the only thing that will bring us to the Father.

It is this grace that transforms us. The things we used to do to earn tickets become opportunities to know Jesus better. We read our Bibles, not because we have to, but because we want to learn from him. We pray more because we want to hear from him. We give and serve out of the overflow of our love for him.

That is what grace does: it transforms us into people who look like Christ.

Questions:
Have you exchanged your religious tickets for Christ’s free grace?

If you have received his grace, how has it transformed you?

Next Steps:
Read the entire chapter of Ephesians 2. Praise the Lord for his gracious provisions for us—the broken and needy.

Take time, to memorize Ephesians 2:8-9.  Repeat it to yourself a few times each day until you know it by heart.

Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for the costly gift of grace. This grace cost me nothing, but it cost you everything. Thank you for drawing me to yourself even though I have nothing to offer. Transform me into someone who reflects your love and grace to everyone around me. Make me into someone who draws others to you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Romans 6:14
Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

This post was written by Julie Mabus, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.