Something I’ve found in my life is that when things become common they get lost in the fray, and are most likely to become part of the mix of painful misconceptions we go through.
Three aspects of Grace :
Grace Saves
Grace Frees
Grace Changes
Scripture reference: Joshua 1-2
Joshua 1:7-9
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Even though God had given the Israelites the land, they needed to be reminded. They needed to claim the land, and needed the reminder that it was theirs.
Rahab hid the two Israelite spies (chapter 2), and said to them in Joshua 2:9-11:
“I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea[ for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.[11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
The people in Jericho knew that the land was given to the Israelites, and knew they were going down if the Israelites were going to come claim it.
Rahab and the spies make a deal—she wouldn’t turn them in, as long as they had favor on her and her family. As a sign of her faithfulness to keep her word, Rahab tied a scarlet cord in her window.
That cord symbolized that she was an object of Grace—she was saved (along with all of her family), she was freed (of the fear and oppression of her people, and the futureless life she lived as a prostitute), and she was changed (and eventually married an Israelite and had a b
aby that was in the line of Jesus).
Grace involved all of these things. When we take them one at a time, we miss stuff. Grace is not just salvation, and it’s not getting the freedom to do whatever we want because “we’re forgiven.” When we allow grace to really overtake us, we can experience genuine and beautiful change in our lives.
Grace is not meant to be a “ball and chain” that wears us out. It’s light load to carry, because it’s what took the heaviness of sin away from us.
There are two people we could relate to in this story:
Rahab—someone who s
eems too far gone to ever receive grace. Someone too lost to be saved, freed or changed.
An Israelite—someone who needs to be reminded of what belongs to us. Someone who needs to claim the “land” that belongs to us.
Sometimes we’re like Rahab. Sometimes we seem to be the person who shouldn‘t get any mercy.
Sometimes we forget that we actually have to claim the land (or grace) that belongs to us.
We do not wage war against the city of Jericho, but we do wage war against the “city of Darkness.” And Satan knows what God has done. Just like the people of Jericho knew to be afraid of the Israelites, Satan knows He has no chance against us if we claim what is ours.
Sometimes we need a reminder. Just like the scarlet cord in Rahab’s window was a reminder to the Israelites, we need a reminder that God is still true to His word and that we really are able to claim salvation, freedom and change in our lives.
His reminder is in the blood of Jesus. The grace that flows down and covers us. In His blood, we are truly saved, freed, and changed.
No comments:
Post a Comment