"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)Ephesians 1 states that we have been blessed by God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, with every spiritual blessing, which Paul then goes on to enumerate the following:
1) Chosen in Christ to be holy and blameless in His sight
2) Predestined to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ
3) Redeemed (i.e. purchased from a life of sin, destined for eternal death) through Christ's blood
4) Forgiveness of sins
5) Made known to us the mystery of His will (to bring all things together in heaven and earth together under one head, Jesus Christ)
6) Having believed the gospel of our salvation, we were marked in Christ with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
In 2 Peter 1, the Apostle Peter tells us to make every effort to add to our faith the virtues of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverence, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. He says that if do, we will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Who doesn't want to hear those words from our Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!"
We are told over and over in Scripture that we are saved by God's grace. That means we don't deserve to be saved. We didn't do anything for our salvation other than to receive it freely, and we wouldn't have done that if the Holy Spirit hadn't regenerated our heart. Salvation is from God from beginning to end.
We come empty-handed and with nothing to offer God. This faith principle reminds me of the team building exercise where someone is told to close their eyes and fall backwards because there is someone to catch us. We will only allow ourselves to fall if we believe that we will be safely caught. Likewise, we will only accept the message of salvation if we trust it to be true and believe God's promise. There's no other way. We can't have both grace and works, otherwise it becomes a works-based assurance. God will have none of that. Good works matter only because they are the byproduct and evidence of a true faith, a faith given to us from above.
When we get to Heaven, we will know that the only reason we're there is because God was gracious and merciful to us. He made us alive in Christ even when we were spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses. All credit goes to God for my salvation. My praise will be heart-felt because I owe it all to Him.
Will I be disappointed if Christ does not return this year? Of course! But it will only mean there's more work yet to be done to advance the Kingdom of God on this earth. There are more souls to save. I know my Redeemer lives, and I know it won't be long before I will be with Him eternally. I praise you, Father, for the perfect hope You have given me in Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Join me in reflecting over the richness of God's grace towards us as we patiently wait for the Lord's return.
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