Page 21 - Livin Light Issue 81

Friday June 23 - Think of the benefits!
Now that you... have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Romans 6:22
There are many situations in life today where we are encouraged to think of future benefits. Saving for a pension, taking out an insurance policy or saving for a funeral plan (or for Christmas!) are all examples of this. All of these are going to cost us money – sometimes a lot of money! So the insurance salesman must work hard to point out the many benefits of the policy. His job is made all the harder because he knows that there are so many other attractive or urgent things that we could use our money on in the present – and the future seems a long way off! But if we only live ‘present-minded’ and do not have regard for the future, we limit ourselves. Thinking of the future benefits really benefits us!
Paul reminds us here that choosing to become slaves of God has enormous future benefits: holiness and eternal life. Holiness is not a fashionable idea. But it simply means living like Jesus, living to please him and becoming like him. God is our Father, so his children take after him! So we make every effort to live for God. We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit, and it will take a whole lifetime. The Bible calls this process ‘sanctification’. Eternal life is taking our place in God’s family, in God’s presence, which is truly heaven!
Thank you for all the benefits you have won for me, Jesus. I worship you. Amen.
Saturday June 24 - It’s a free gift
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Paul is probably using an illustration from the life of the Roman soldier here. The soldiers worked hard to earn their regular wage. For ‘gift’ Paul uses the Greek word for the gift the emperor would give soldiers on a special occasion such as his birthday or the anniversary of his accession to the throne. Soldiers had done nothing to earn these gifts; they came through the generosity of the emperor.
Sin pays out regular wages, and the result is ultimately spiritual and physical death – or slow but sure separation from God our true Father. God, however, offers us a gift that we have not earned or deserved, which is eternal life with him. It is all about his grace. All we must do is to receive it!
Does that mean that when and if I sin as a believer in God, I lose eternal life? Not at all! Once a child is born into a family, they are always a child. They may be naughty and the relationship with the parent can be strained, but it can be repaired with apology and forgiveness. So it is with us as children of God; we need to keep short accounts, returning to our Father, who is always ready and waiting to take us right back – as Jesus illustrated in his story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
Thank you, Father God, for the amazing gift of eternal life with you. I receive it with lifelong gratitude. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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