Devotional thoughts for Tuesday

Tuesday 11. November 2014 

3. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus taught: "Then the King will say to those on His right: 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you since the foundation of the world.'" (Matthew 25,34) 

Many believe that they will earn their salvation based on the good deeds they perform. They envision God the Father as an accountant who tallies up their bad deeds and their good deeds, weighs them in the balance, and if the good deeds outweigh the bad, then they have merited eternal life based on their own goodness. This is basically what the Pharisees taught in Jesus' day: if you obey the covenant and do the commandments, then you will merit righteousness. 

Jesus teaches the exact opposite in His parable in Matthew 25. He tells us that our salvation has been prepared for us long before we even existed. Righteousness is God's merit and only God can tip the balance against sinfulness and bad deeds. Everyone will be found wanting when they are weighed in the Divine Balance. Our bad deeds will always outweigh our good and we can never merit our own salvation. 

The good news is: we do not have to merit our salvation. It all depends on God, and this is why He sent His Son to be our Savior. Jesus paid the price, bore our sin and merited righteousness and eternal life for us when He went to the cross. Jesus gives this righteousness to us as a gift; this is why we call it grace. We don't deserve it. We didn't earn it. But God gives it to us out of His love and mercy. 

We inherit salvation because we are children of God. Jesus redeemed us back into the heavenly family. He has secured our placed. It was His intention to do so since the foundation of the world. 

Prayer: O Lord God of Hosts, Your Servant Martin Chemnitz, the soldier, embodied the spirit of sacrifice. He became a bishop in Your Church to defend the catholic faith. Give us grace to follow in his steps so that when our Lord returns we may be clothed with the Baptismal garment of righteous and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (1107, Treasury of Daily Prayer)