Feeling The Father's Affirming Embrace - In Christ!
These two quotes, one from Scripture and one not, put forward a wonderful truth about gospel identity.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed." 1 Corinthians 15:10-11
"But the gospel calls us to believe the unbelievable: The radiant sun of divine favor is shining down on me, and while the clouds of my sin and failure may darken my feelings of that favor, the favor cannot be lessened any more than a tiny, wispy cloud can threaten the existence of the sun. The sun is shining. It cannot stop. Clouds, no clouds—-sin, no sin—-the sun is shining on me. Because of Another."
Dane Ortlund, In Christ I'm Not A Sinner
Because we’re in Christ, the Father's full grace, peace, and affirming embrace are ours. Both on good days and bad! Not because of any action or virtue on our part but because of the saving action and virtue "of Another." As a result, every day we can exhale a deep sigh of relief/rest, re-orient ourselves towards trusting and following Jesus once again, and press on.
The experience of being in and belonging to Christ IS powerful but as the disclaimer says, "results may vary." Circumstances and conditions can impact us, priorities and spiritual vigor can "flex" in our hearts, things can change. How do you feel with the Lord today? Are you at rest in His presence, enjoying the peace of God? Are you harried, bothered, stressed, pressured? How'd you feel on that front a week ago today (and how will you feel a week from today?) Too often, our enjoyment of Christ and contentment in Him can be a moving target. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
God's love for us in Christ is not merely unconditional, it is CONTRA-conditional, COUNTER-conditional. He has placed His favor on me even though my past and present, my heart and actions have demonstrated that I'm not worthy of it.
- "His grace toward me was not in vain."
- "The radiant sun on divine favor is shining down on me... (and) it cannot stop."
- "Clouds, no clouds—-sin, no sin—-the sun is shining on me. Because of Another."
The Christian life is all about grace and also all about the challenges of discipleship. I remember times when the challenges of discipleship enlivened my spirit more than the realities of grace. As I get older, I realize how consistently I need the "warming fire on a cold night" of gospel-grace reminding and renewing me. With that, I can continue to walk out the discipleship He's called me to in the power of the Spirit with clear eyes and full heart. Without it, less so! So I've grown to love the grace of God even more, and when I think about it the right way I feel the Father's affirming embrace.
How 'bout you?
The short article/gospel reflection linked at the top finishes this way, "How can you possibly stiff-arm this? Repent of your small thoughts of God’s love, your resistance to swallowing Christ’s atoning work whole. Repent and let him love you."
Amen and amen! In Christ, there's much to be thankful for and worshipful about today. Let it find you and feel the Father's affirming embrace, in Christ!