#JESUS2018 - Daily DevotionalsSample

RECEIVING GRACE

During his life on earth Jesus always desired to be close to the people at the margins of society. It is typical that he ends up dying between two shady characters. Even in his agony he cared for people who are despised by others.

The thought that the first person with whom Jesus entered paradise, God’s kingdom, was a criminal moves me. The criminal probably had no idea what Jesus had preached in the past three years. He had nothing positive to show and could no longer do anything for his salvation, even if he wanted to.

But simply asking Jesus not to forget him was enough for him to become a part of God’s new world. In his hour of death, this man experienced God’s grace without moving a finger.

This fact is both liberating and challenging. I do not need to do anything to enter paradise. Yet I do so much for God. It is always worth testing my attitude and question why I do something for God. What is my motive? Do I do things like praying, reading the Bible and helping in church because I have received grace or because I want to earn grace?

ACTION STEP:

Scan your life: Why do I do the things I do for God? Discuss your life with Jesus, become aware that grace is a gift and that thanks to this gift you can joyfully invest your life for God.

Thomas Bosshard, ICF Brugg