Romans 4:13-17
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.
16 For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
Sam was a member of my mid-week Bible study group. I was just getting started in ministry, and felt that I needed everyone to know everything I had learned just as quickly as I could tell them. Sam stopped me in my tracks.
“Why would God forgive a person who had clearly done something wrong?” My first response to Sam’s question was a ridiculously long explanation of the role of God’s Grace in our lives. “But why would God forgive us for no reason?” Sam’s question, born of a lifetime of retribution, was so simple and sincere that I had no answer.
If we have never experienced grace and forgiveness from another person, we can’t understand faith. The Law shows us where the line is between right and wrong. Faith assures us that God is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Without faith, we live in an endless loop of fear and self-recrimination.
Prayer: Gracious and Merciful Lord, show me how I can embody your grace and forgiveness for someone who needs it to galvanize their faith. AMEN