Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Galatians 2:16

[Y]et we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

Receive the day

One cannot earn what cannot be earned. One cannot pay for that which is freely given. And to offer payment in any form for a gift dishonors the heart of the giver.

And God’s heart is free and full, giving before any request can be made.

We are given life without asking to be born. We are given every new day without a prayer being offered. We receive the mystery of the person we are, shaped by forces of genetics, time and history, as a gift we continue to open up through the end of our lives.

Gift, grace, giving, giver. Oh, I should say, Giver.

No one can justify themselves to God, for God is Giver of all life and all that is, including this crazy life into which I wake each morning.

Actions, deeds, our works, however good … or evil … do not and cannot start or stop God’s self-giving, for the Holy One is a Loving Mystery who pours out Love and welcome to all that is, wanting only that we should receive with joy and live with generosity.

There is no way to justify yourself, to put yourself in proper relationship with such Love except by saying, ‘Thank you,’ and to sharing the Love who finds you on the journey.

Receive the day. It’s a gift from a great Giver you will never understand, except as you learn to love.

Pr. David L. Miller