40 Days Blog - Day 3
The day was 10th March 1748 and a terrific gale battered a small trading ship three hundred miles off the coast of Ireland. The crew were fighting desperately in the dark to keep her afloat. The hold was filling rapidly. The men were bailing constantly and had cut the rigging free. When the ship plunged down into the trough of the sea, they never expected her to come up again. On board was a young slave trader. He was unpopular with his crew mates. Notorious for his foul language, hard living and surly nature, he had even been abandoned by a previous captain to languish in a slave colony in Africa. His name was John Newton. As he hurried to his place at the pumps he said to the captain, “If this will not do, the Lord have mercy upon us!” His own words startled him. “Mercy!” he said to himself in astonishment. “Mercy! What mercy can there be for me?” He had not uttered the name of God except as a swear word since he was a child.
Newton later wrote of this incident:
About six in the evening, the hold was free from water, and then came a gleam of hope. I thought I saw the hand of God displayed in our favour. I began to pray. I could not utter the prayer of faith. I could not draw near to a reconciled God and call him Father. My prayer for mercy was like the cry of the ravens, which yet the Lord does not disdain to hear.
Years later while reflecting on this life changing moment, he wrote these words:
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretched like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.
Grace and Mercy - the two doorposts at the entrance of our home with God.
Newton realised he deserved nothing but condemnation for his life. His only hope was undeserved forgiveness from a generously gracious and mercy-full God.
And that’s the point of today’s reading. No matter who we are, or how good or bad a life we have lived, we have all failed spectacularly to live up to God’s perfect pattern for us.
The amazing thing is that, though we deserve nothing, we can now receive everything from a God who is willing to look at us through the lens of his Son and forget our sin completely.
He does not need to do this. This is grace.
He does not demand justice from us. This is mercy.
Perhaps the Ephesians were beginning to forget this truth. Or maybe Paul just wanted to get the point down on paper.
He makes it clear that we can’t earn forgiveness. We are not made right by good works, or turning up at church regularly, or giving generously of time or money to good causes. No! As we learned yesterday, spending time reading our Bibles and listening to preaching enriches our lives with wisdom and understanding. Good works turn out to be the merely the fruit of a life that is lived wanting to please God because of what he has already done for us. It is not the way to earn approval from God.
My son is quite a useful guy. He can turn his hand to most things. Recently I had to admire his latest handiwork. He’d manufactured a nifty solution to fill an awkward space with shelves and storage. It wasn’t just useful, it was a thing of beauty.
When Paul tells the Ephesians (and therefore us) that they are God’s handiwork (
v10) he is reminding them that the change in them is all down to God. But they are to be useful to Him, and are to undertake good tasks prepared for them.
Because God has shown us grace and mercy, we must now be open to God’s promptings and to be ready to undertake good works.
A Prayer
Merciful Father, thank You for sending Jesus to be my Saviour. Gracious God, thank You for loving me despite all my failings. Loving God help me today to respond to by being alert to Your promptings to help others and live my life for You.
Amen.
Listen to today's reading and blog post below...