We then as workers together with Him beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 Corinthians 6:1
A friend of mine who has a good, well-paying job decided to do something for his parents who are retired and living on a modest pension. Because of the rising price of gasoline, they did not travel far in their car, using it only for short trips to the grocery store and bank. My friend presented them with a credit card for a gasoline company, and urged them to use it as much as they wanted, to take trips and enjoy themselves in some travelling. He promised he would receive and pay the bill himself, and there would be no cost to them. To his surprise, he received no bills for the first two months. So he asked his parents why they weren’t using the card. They replied that they found it inconvenient, and they didn’t want to be a burden to him. They sound like Christians who Paul warns against having received the grace of God in vain.
God has given you and me something much better than a credit card. He has brought us within the scope of all of His resources, and has granted to us all of the privileges and responsibilities of an eternal relationship with Himself. But there are several ways in which we receive the grace of God in vain, negating all of the value of this precious resource.
If you or I have unconfessed sin in our lives, the grace of God will be ineffective as a resource. That sin will prevent the Holy Spirit from directing and enabling us in any service for our Lord. We will also be ineffective if the Word of God is not daily read and fed upon. Without this spiritual food, we will have no energy or intelligence on which the grace of God can work. Another hindrance to the grace of God is the lack of obedience to direction that God has already given us. For example, a believer who has not obeyed the Lord in baptism can expect little more in terms of direction from God for their future. As recipients of the grace of God, we need to be aware of our responsibilities for enabling that grace in our lives.
When we consider what the grace of God is capable of doing for us and in us, we should become excited. The grace of God enables us to be happy in the Lord, rejoicing in His manifold blessings to us. The grace of God enables us to be fruitful for the Lord, empowering and guiding us to serve Him as we should. The grace of God enables us to be faithful to our Lord, directing our lives as good testimonies to His Name. The grace of God enables us to be soldiers for our Lord, standing firm against the wiles of the devil and against the world’s attacks on God and His people.
Our prayer for today should be that the grace of God that we have received today will not be in vain today. -Jim MacIntosh