Really, I should surrender?

The purpose of the incarnation is to bring us to God as children of God in a living brotherhood. It’s unimaginable to be embraced by God in the face of evil. A great change needs to be made, and that can not be done by us. We are dead in our transgressions. 

Grace is what Paul calls our awakening to the choice of faith. “Here I am,” God says, and we surrender. Or, we turn away. Surrender comes with evidence of that grace, repeatedly and with clarity, until we submit.

… that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

We were by nature children of wrath


http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102218.cfm
Ephesians 2:1-10
Luke 12:13-21


Whether our Christian memory is short or long, every moment of our life with God reminds us that we are free. Our recollections of God’s interventions help to separate us from our former bondage to the power of evil. Accepting God’s grace means we eliminate the power of evil over us and allow only God to live in our hearts.

Evil doesn’t go away after we are “brought to life” with Christ. Evil is busy working in the disobedient, which until we are fully in Christ includes our continually fallen selves. The reminders of God’s grace help us to return to him. As Ephesians tells us, evil is in the very air that we breathe.

You were dead in your transgressions and sins
in which you once lived following the age of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.

None of us has lived without sin, Paul the author of Ephesians tells us. He urges us to recall God’s convincing love for us that awakened our eyes and hearts. Our former but still latent attention to our desires puts us at odds with God. The more our focus is upon satisfying our desires and impulses, the less God’s grace can be visible.

All of us once lived among them (the disobedient) in the desires of our flesh,
following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,
and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.

Children of wrath refers to our parentage and upbringing and its consequent education in the ways of sin. If our parents are or were holy in God’s grace that does not exempt us from our willing interactions and affiliations with the disobedient. The disobedient are those angry with God’s order and design of creation, because at first they do not understand that disobedience brought death and sinful ways in the first place. If we see evil as God’s failure, or worse God’s intention, then we rue life itself. That is how we get to be dead in our transgressions. 

But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus …

God incarnated in Jesus wants to live in us in order to work through us. Jesus is not just a great man. He is a divine person of God chosen and willing to be our king and brother. Eternity in heaven means to live with Jesus, free and without sin. This also is God’s plan, which many of us find difficult to accept. It is further disobedience to balk at Jesus and refuse to surrender, refuse to be free from the bondage of sin. Sin's purpose is to bind us to evil. God offers freedom.

For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.

The purpose of the incarnation is to bring us to God as children of God in a living brotherhood. It’s unimaginable to be embraced by God in the face of evil, especially our own. A great change needs to be made, and that can not be done by us. We are dead in our transgressions. We need to be convinced that he can repair us.

Grace is what Paul calls our awakening to the choice of faith. “Here I am,” God says, and we surrender. Or, we turn away. Surrender comes with evidence of that grace, repeatedly and with clarity, until we submit.

… that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Our transition from living in our own desires to living in the good works of God depends upon our surrender to God’s love through the brotherhood and friendship of Jesus. Our efforts or handiwork cannot connect us to God, because we doubt our own motivations. His love connects us to him, if we accept it, because God’s love carries no burden of sin.

In accepting God’s grace and allowing that the evidence is there we then enter a new phase where God asks to dwell in us. He wants to live in us as Jesus showed how the Holy Spirit lived in him. Evil had no place in Jesus’ heart. Evil is still allowed to reign, as "the ruler of the power in the air," but Jesus conquered its consequence of death. We cannot remove its power from our hearts. He can. Then, his Holy Spirit will take residence in us.

For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.

And that describes the essence of freedom. A life no longer ruled by evil and its constant realm of sin. The transition for us to fully house the Holy Spirit may take longer than the days we are allowed. Yet, no perilous transgressions will have deadly consequences when we agree to be God's handiwork for good works that God has already prepared for us! Freedom by being loved by the creator of our very selves should attract, convert, and motivate us all. With God in us we are included in God's handiwork rather than at odds with it.

We must allow, experience, and witness the flow of love shown in God's grace. This is where we join in community. Who would not want to reject evil, walk with God, and be participants in his handiwork, to be his very handiwork ourselves?

I must remember, Paul urges. Evil can hammer on us all day, but it will make nothing out of us. We are free.

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