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1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. 13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 NRSV)
Happy Tuesday, dear Friend. I pray all is well with you and yours. May this time spent together in faith and prayer bless you even more than you could imagine.
Father Abraham. Father of the faith as the Jews called him. Why? Because he trusted God enough to obey Him and to do what God asked of him. Abraham was a man of faith, not flesh. What he did was spiritual in obedience and trust. His blessing as the father of faith was strictly because Abraham trusted enough to obey. It had nothing to do with flesh or works. We believers of the Protestant lineage believe we are justified (saved) by faith, not by our works. There is nothing we can do with our hands and feet that would match or better what God does by faith. Abraham was counted as a righteous man just because of his faith and nothing else that he did. Other Christian faith traditions tend to believe that their salvation depends on their works. This tends to make most work harder in hopes that that will earn them their salvation. We believe it is by faith that we are saved. It is a free gift, but not a cheap one. Jesus paid with His flesh and blood for that "free gift," which is really free for us, but cost Jesus His life. The Apostle Paul was encountering those who were arguing that we could not discount nor do away with the law. Paul knows the place of the law and that was to define sin and the division that could come because of our disobedience; what counted more for us, Paul says, is God's grace, an undeserved free gift of love and mercy, even though we deserved death.
Abraham could never take credit for anything credited to him because he knew it was all God. And this, Paul says, is because this is not an Abraham-story, it is a God-story. All Abraham received as well as all of his descendants was not because of what any of them did, rather it was what God did. They were wise enough to enter into what God was doing rather than thinking they were in any way responsible for anything.
The same is true for us, dear reader. We cannot, and should not, take any credit for the awesome blessings that have come into our lives. Like Abraham, we can be wise in saying that we simply walked into what God was doing and were blessed as a result of that decision. Our is also a God-story, still being written and perfected by God for us; to take credit is a foolish decision. We simply point upward and say, "This is all God, not me!" And that takes our being rooted in the faith, trusting the Spirit rather than the flesh.
Paul's entire life was a spiritual one, guided and blessed by God. Paul took no credit for anything he said or wrote or experienced. He always pointed upward and knew that with God on his side, he was on the right path, as should we. Remember, your story and my story, are still being written. Some pages are a little harder on us than others, but we know how the story ends - God wins! And so do we!
PRAYER: Loving God, as You write my pages, please allow us to point upward to You and give You full credit for all things. You're a great writer, a loving Father, and awesome protector. It's in Christ Jesus that we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Let go of God's pen and let God write your story!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
