Wednesday, October 14, 2020
See
Fear and Love
Live
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.
Acts 10:34-35
Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Words of Grace For Today
“… anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.”
Thankfully Peter did not say that only those who fear God and do what is right are acceptable to God, otherwise no one would be acceptable to God.
That would be to deny Grace.
Truth is no one can do what is right and therefore be acceptable to God.
Our duty is to keep God’s commandments, which we can only do with God’s help. Fearing God is the first step.
Luther added to that: we are to fear and love God. This is more complete, in that it brings us to the essence of God’s relationship to us. God loves us and graciously gives us freedom to choose, to forgive, and the ability to breathe, work and love … and hope.
God gives these gifts to every human, without partiality.
Accept who we are and what God gives us, and we enjoy the fullness of life and life eternal.
We can spend many hours, days and years trying to be what we are not, trying to separate ourselves from God. All of it is futile.
God stays with us, calling us to be all that God created us to be.
We can never be separated from God …
and God’s Grace.