What a weekend it was! I didn’t
do much of anything, which was much needed. I binge watched a Netflix cooking
show on Saturday and watched the Indiana Hoosiers blow a significant lead in
the closing minute of their game with Maryland on Sunday. If that wasn’t enough
of a shock, the news of Kobe Bryant’s passing broke shortly after the Hoosiers’
collapse. I’ve never been a big NBA fan, but there is no denying the greatness
of Kobe Bryant. I saw on Twitter that
Kobe had attended Mass earlier Sunday morning. Regardless of your view of
Catholicism, it’s still amazing that one of his last hours on Earth was spent
in the presence of God – the God he would soon meet face to face. What a sober
reminder of the fragile nature of this life here on Earth.
Several
of my recent posts have mentioned Christian musician Andrew Peterson. Peterson
has a popular song entitled “Is He Worthy”. Check out the song in the link
below – it’s “worth” your time! See what I did there?
The
resounding answer in Peterson’s song is that Christ is indeed worthy to break
the seal and open the scroll to provide us with eternal life! Not that this
outcome was ever in doubt, but the song is beautifully written and extremely
impactful.
As
I got ready for Church Sunday morning, I pondered the subject of our worthiness
as Christians. God quickly brought to mind a verse from the first book of the
New Testament – Matthew 8:8. The verse reads as follows: “The centurion replied, Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my
roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (An adapted
version of the verse is used in the Roman Catholic Eucharistic rite at Mass,
phrased as “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my
soul shall be healed”) Having previously healed a leper earlier in Chapter 8,
the Centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant who has been paralyzed. When Jesus asks if He should come to heal the
servant, the Centurion responds with the italicized comment above. Based upon
the faith of the Centurion, Jesus grants the requests and heals the servant
without even going to see Him.
Matthew
chapter 8 is most assuredly a microcosm of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as
the Centurion’s faith in Jesus alone obtained assurance of healing for his
servant, our faith in Jesus alone accesses the assurances of eternal life. Just
as the unworthy Centurion invited Jesus to come under his roof; through the
gift of faith in Jesus Christ, He also comes under our unworthy roofs in the
person of the Holy Spirit. I found it
interesting that Jesus healed the servant from where He was rather than going
to see the servant in person. I feel that this could be a foreshadowing of the
work of the Holy Spirit. While Jesus is not physically present with us today,
He still performs healing of our soul through the work of the Holy Spirit from
afar, just as he healed the servant in Matthew 8.
The sermon at Church this past weekend focused on John 16:7-15, which helps to
explain the role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives. The passage is outlined
below:
“7 But very truly I tell you, it is for
your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not
come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the
world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about
sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because
I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and
about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more
than you can now bear. 13 But
when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the
truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and
he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is
from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All
that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will
receive from me what he will make known to you.”
The
Holy Spirit’s role is to seal the heart of the believer from falling into
error. It is the tireless work of the Holy Spirit that keeps us on the narrow
path mentioned in Matthew 7:14. Our Salvation accessed through faith in Jesus
is sealed unto eternity by the Holy Spirit. For that, I am eternally grateful! I
grow more and more cognizant of the Holy Spirit’s work in my own personal walk
with Christ. On a daily basis, the Spirit guides me away from distractions and
pulls me back into the Word of God. I could not walk the narrow path in any way
without the help of the Spirit.
So
back to the main thesis of this post. Are we worthy of the Graces bestowed upon
us by God? On our own merits – absolutely not! However, through Christ’s sacrifice
on Calvary we can stand justified before the throne on the final day of judgement.
Take heed of this good news, friends. What was once unclean how now been made
clean by the purifying blood of Jesus Christ! Good news, indeed.
In Christ,
Kendal May
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