"We have been bought through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trepasses
with the riches of God's grace"
Ephesians 1:6
This word “riches” in our world is measured in terms of monetary
value. Gold is considered riches because
it’s worth a lot of money. Food is like
gold at the moment because it’s so expensive.
I went to the supermarket during the week and was shocked at what little
amount of money can buy these days.
Everything is about 50% more expensive than a couple of years ago. I used to buy lamb chops for $10 a packet and
now it costs $15 a packet. It’s only
five dollars more but it adds up so that a $200 grocery bill is now $300. That’s a whole $100 that we have to find
while our wages haven’t gone up.
Then there is rent. There are a
lot of people who have had to endure rent increases every six months so that
after two years, they now pay $200 more than what they used to, without a pay
increase. So each week we are paying
$300 more for groceries and rent than just a couple of years ago. To go to the doctor is more expensive, to get
a Warrant of Fitness. It’s all very
depressing.
On the positive side, registrations for cars came down. That is a real bonus and now I can afford to
register my car for six months at a time instead of three months (or one month
when I was really poor). This time of year
lettuces are cheaper and I really love lettuce so this is great for me.
The value of the New Zealand dollar compared to the American dollar can
affect us quite a bit. If the NZ dollar
is a lot less than the $US then our exporters are happy because Americans will
buy NZ products. If the $NZ is closer to
the $US then our importers are happy because us kiwis won’t have to pay so much
for American products.
So in the world, what we consider riches goes up and down in value. But
what God’s riches is His grace that never changes. This is very comforting, to know that God’s
riches are constant and always holds its value and is always true. Jesus is our constant eternal value and while
earthly riches may bring us bad news, Christ’s riches (grace) always brings
good news.
The good news is that Jesus died for us. Jesus paid the price for our sin and that
price is constant, it doesn’t go up or down.
Jesus paid the price with his blood and with his body. God the father accepted to pay the price for
our sin with his own son. Would you
accept to let your child die to save someone who was a convicted murderer? I wouldn’t.
Yet, God looked at me and said, “You are a murderer because you have
hated people that I love, you are sentenced to death. My only son will die in your place”. What kind of judge would say that? Only our God!
Then we sit at the right hand of the Father. That means the Father is on our left. Most women hold their babies on the left
side. Scientists believe that this is
because when the child is held on the left of a person, that triggers the right
side of the brain to work which is the side of the brain that helps us to
listen and understand people. So when
the child is on the left side of the mother, she is able to listen and
understand her baby.
I don’t know God’s reason for putting us on his right (except that is a
place of honour) but I want us to remember that now that we are His children,
we have to be listening to God and understanding what He expects from us. One expectation is to meet together and take
communion so congratulations to all of us here this morning, we listened to God
this morning and we obeyed His voice.
Well done to all of us because it’s not always easy. Let’s keep listening to God’s voice and
obeying Him.
It is also important to remember that God’s grace has an
expiry date. When Christ comes back,
there will be no more grace. If you know
you are not living in accordance with God’s grace, then now is the time to ask
God for forgiveness. It’s important not
to take the bread and juice if you are in sin.
Please make yourself right before God before taking it. Making yourself right not only means to say
sorry to God but also to make a decision not to go back to that sin anymore.
This morning as the bread and juice is passed around, let’s
take time to search our hearts and ask for forgiveness where we have fallen
short of God’s grace. Then let’s
remember Jesus and all that He has done for us.
Let’s remember His grace that is constant and true. His grace which brings us good news of our
salvation. Let’s remember that God sent
His only son to pay the price for our sin.
Jesus paid for us to be able to enter the Kingdom of God by dying. This price is so much more valuable that
money or earthly riches. God Himself
paid the price. What could be more
valuable than God Himself?
By Hayley Boud
