Nougat 15

Remember making the most audacious claim as a child; that if it’s the last moment before Heaven closed, you’d be there? Oops; that’s my memory not ours. But did you ever try to lay claim on Heaven? In today’s Holy Nougat, we’re reminded of how salvation works

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God. It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 TLV

There are days when this is hard to hear. Days when I am confident that I not only make my choices, but I have salvation covered. When, if I’m not careful, I could be inclined to think Life is all about me and my efforts.

And thankfully, Life usually happens; offering the essential reminder that ultimately It is ALL about God’s Grace. That Jesus, Y’shua, the Son of God, became human for One sole reason – to effect our access to Heaven. The sermon, the miracles, even the Disciples were all peripheral, more supporting actions to clarify His status and purpose.

Whether we subscribe to Original Sin or not, we must concede that the heart of humanity is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). And, in evolution theory circles, we have to contend with the reality that we seem to have stopped evolving (although we have been trying to play around with science to fine tune the gene pool); and also accept that part of humanity’s peculiarity is our capacity for evil and good.

If we accept humanity’s propensity toward evil, then we ought to recognize that there’s an even greater propensity to good. And, we may even accept that we all have the capacity for worship. And, we may be open to thinking that worship is generally understood to be reserved for one greater than ourselves. Further, we might note that within most religious contexts, the god/dess demands particular ethical-moral behavior in exchange for benefits and success on earth.

Very few offer a God-figure Whose sole aim is to grant EVERY single person who has Faith an opportunity to live eternally. None other that I’m aware presents God being resurrected from death (self resurrected for that matter) to accommodate our access to eternity in Heaven. If we can accept that; then we already have secured our spot for Heaven. And though it requires Faith, the harder tasks were God’s, through Jesus Christ.

And yes, it is a gift. Because we can’t make God secure our place – God’s done that without our help. Evolution theory does not offer any options of this nature; nor does the Big Bang. This gift comes only with Faith in Jesus Christ.

So, now we have received this gift; what shall we do with it?

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May all we seek be found in Christ