If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember
that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian
life is gloriously difficult, but its difficulty does not make us faint
and cave in—it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous
salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest—our
best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of
Jesus, and “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His
good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
But we have to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical
living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His
redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it.
If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has
placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been
putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice
in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then
when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the
grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation
is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery,
courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is
“bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10 ,
and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s
grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus
Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of
discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus
in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an
effort to live a life of worth and excellence.
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