Romans 3:9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all!

There is a great temptation for those who have been “toeing the line” for a while to start thinking they are better than others. This verse is a reminder that isn’t the case. Everyone is equally in need of God’s grace, because as Jesus said, “apart from Him we can do nothing.” (John 15:5) When we start thinking that we are hanging onto Him by our own strength, we start descending into pride. All we can do is choose to allow Him to hang onto us. That choice is daily, and sometimes moment by moment. This is not at all a passive thing; the Bible urges us from beginning to end to seek God, cry out to Him, and serve Him with our whole hearts. However, it is a recognition that ultimately, our strength is so weak as to be nonexistent, but God’s strength is available to save us. Religious people can be just as guilty of imagined self-sufficiency as atheists! This was the big problem with the Pharisees: they lived such upright lives they thought they didn’t need God! We must never forget that a genuinely Biblical lifestyle is one of humility above all, engendering a grateful appreciation for God’s grace.

I just had a brief but intense practicum in this. I usually read the Bible and pray before getting involved in anything else in my day, but this morning my attention was taken by two or three things, and by the time I opened my Bible, it might as well have been blank. I can no more mine the riches of the Word in my own strength and wisdom than I could create another moon, for example, by speaking it into existence. I cannot coast on past accomplishments or presume on past intimacy with God; each day calls for fresh commitment and submission to the Holy Spirit. It’s not at all that God is stingy or distant, it’s that we have spiritual ADD. Religious people can often add “hyperactive” to that, resulting in ADHD. I’m certainly at risk there! When I get caught up in what I need to “do for God,” I lose the connection with Him that allows me to do anything in the first place. That’s no way to be a channel of His grace and blessing to others!

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s no fun to get to the point that I need it! I do ask for a clear flow of Your Spirit as I prepare the message for Sunday. Keep me from focusing on “the message” to the point that I fail to rest in Your arms, hearing Your heart beat. I am a silly little boy, prone to running around in circles. Help me indeed take my Daddy’s hand and walk with You, recognizing and rejoicing in my dependence on You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!