A Christian doctor once ran his race well. But even more importantly, he finished it well. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was his name, and his daughter, Lady Catherwood, adored him. When asked why her father’s ministry was so effective, she gave this answer:
‘He never recovered from the fact that God saved him.’
May we, by God’s grace, see our Christian faith this way. May we never recover from God’s saving work in our lives. May we stumble into heaven still reeling from having been saved. No doubt, while here on earth, we’ll have sour seasons of life, where salvation doesn’t seem all that sweet. But let’s pray we always savor something of its flavor in our hearts. Let’s always work, by God’s grace, to taste and see that the Lord is good. Let’s work to keep enjoying the basics of the Christian life-loving God and neighbor, hearing from God through His Word, speaking to God in prayer, worshiping God with our lives, encouraging our brothers and sisters at church, and sharing the gospel with the lost. After all, brothers and sisters, we never graduate from the basics, and the second we think we have is the second we prove we haven’t. Of course, there’s a wrong way to hear that story about the thankful and effective doctor. The point we should take is that God’s grace ought to amaze us, not how effective we can be on His behalf. The point of this book is to know and enjoy God’s grace more and see how the spiritual disciplines help us to do so.
Our goal isn’t effectiveness or perfection. Our goal is simply to know Jesus, and to join in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means we may attain the resurrection of the dead (Phil. 3:8-11). So, may we finish the race. May we fight the good fight. May we make it home to heaven and be amazed that we’re even there.
‘My soul makes its boast in the Lord,’ says Psalm 34:2. And may the one who boasts boast in this-that he knows God.
Brothers and sisters, may we grow to know Him. And may we never recover.
‘For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.’ (Titus 2:11-14)
Source:
Excerpted from Service – How do I Give Back? by Mez McConnell. Copyright ©2020. Published in 2020 by Christian Focus Publications Ltd.