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Quick reminder: Blessings can be spiritual too
Blessings go beyond material prosperity. It’s nice to be in good health, have sufficient finances and a steady supply of clean and wholesome food and water. But that’s not all that comes under the blessings of God. In fact too much of focusing on the material aspects of blessings might be a temptation to not give heed to the spiritual things which come from heavenly blessings from God through Jesus Christ. Knowing what spiritual blessings are can make you more grateful and humble towards the Lord. You’d realize that all blessings that you have ultimately are not of your creation but come from the Lord God himself and no one can compete with the Lord in this.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10)
Related article:
“What are spiritual blessings?” (www.gotquestions.org)
Earning the grace of God?
If the grace of God can be earned then its not grace!
Grace is the unmerited favour of God. When God favours you, all things work for your good because of his love for you. The reason for God’s favour is his own desire to bless you through his son Jesus Christ.
I have seen a lot of well meaning Christians try to do lots of good work but with a flawed mindset of earning salvation. They themselves are not aware of it. They work really hard at it and wonder why they are not blessed. Some then even feel unloved by God. Some give up and bounce back into sin. What they are doing wrong is that they overlook the fact that God loves everyone freely. They put a price tag to the peace of Christ and wonder why they can’t buy it. Again, that’s a big mistake. Jesus gives his peace freely, so its weird to even try to earn it. Maybe that earn-thy-respect-through-achievement worked for you in the military, medical school or in marketing. However this won’t work in the kingdom of God. You are called as friends of Jesus. Does a friend everyday have to earn his friendship all over again? Not at all.
Take care therefore that you don’t fall into a hellish trap of trying to earn God’s grace. Firstly it will cause you get weary in great measure and you will be restless. Secondly as you get more restless you will feel the need for grace. Finally in your pursuit of grace that gives peace you will try to earn more grace. The effect is that due being in this vicious cycle of earning grace you will be frustrated and not know if you are saved.
You just can’t earn God’s grace. The good news is that it’s available freely and generously in Jesus Christ. He opens the doors of grace to all, happy are they who find it and enter it.
Why is it important to avoid the deception of trying to earn God’s grace? To save your time, effort and money. Never think that your volunteering with orphans, going in dangerous rescue missions and giving huge donations will save your soul. These are good deeds but these won’t get you to heaven. If any one tells you to give him money so that your sins are forgiven, then he is wrong. Tell such a person that Jesus can forgive sins without money! Christ has purchased salvation for you by his precious blood and resurrection. He lived and died so that your sins are forgiven. Happy are those who true beauty and simplicity of Salvation.
There’s no need to trust worldly systems to earn salvation. I have seen the most bizzare ways in which people try to earn salvation. Some take sharp metal rods and pierce it through their cheeks. Some cover themselves from head to toe in white or black no matter what the weather is. Some walk on burning coals or lie down on a bed of needles. Some spend hours in meditation to get a out of body experience. However though they do it so hard and well, that won’t get them saved. Unfortunately they haven’t heard the gospel. You having heard the gospel must act and behave different from such people. Begin by accepting you salvation freely.
For the record about wordly people; I don’t hate such people but rather hate the devil who blinds their eyes due to which they can’t see salvation. The devil’s kingdom advances to blind people in their spiritual eyes. The kingdom of God opens our eyes to see the salvation that comes from the Lord Jesus. Happy and blessed are those that see the salvation of the Lord. Amen.
Disciples of hope 