Seek the Lord while He may be found.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3: 23-25)
Sin? What, ME? Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of seeking for me to find instances where I have “come short of the glory of God.” Verse 23 provides an unachievable measuring stick and nails us all. Old habits revisited; harsh words spoken; kind words left unspoken; times of impatience; inattention to the needs of others.
Too often, we measure ourselves against the 10 commandments and not the greatest commandments. How honestly can I say that I have loved the Lord my God with ALL my heart, and with ALL my strength, and with ALL my mind; AND my neighbor as myself? When the “glory of God” is the standard, how can I ever hope to measure up? What hope is there for any of us?
Even as it doesn’t take much seeking to find our failings, it happily doesn’t take much seeking to find our hope. The answer is in the very next verse. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Grace is freely given to all those who seek.
And as Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you: For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Ask. Seek. Knock. Grace is for the receiving. Grace for All. Christ Jesus will forever be our hope.
Prayer:
Dear, God. Help us to never lose our hope for redemption. Help us to never quit seeking for what you have promised. You have promised that your Grace is sufficient for us all. Thank you. Amen.
This devotion was written by Charlie Barton and read by Donn King.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
