In Vain Or In Victory?

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Years ago, a letter was found in the pocket of a young soldier. He wrote it knowing that he would be in a fierce battle and his chances of survival were slim.

“Dear Mom,” he wrote. “Do you know why I feel sad right now? It’s not about dying that worries me. We both know that when my number is up, it’s up. There is nothing that we can do about that. I wouldn’t put it so crudely if we didn’t know the truth and if we could not be honest with one another. And, so I say humbly and without hypocrisy, ‘God’s will be done!’”

“As I said, Mom, it’s not the dying that bothers me. I will be calm right up until the end as you will be after you hear the news of my death. But what does worry, bother and matter most to me is this: Will I have died in vain?”

Paul, in writing to the Corinthians addressed “dying in vain” when he wrote: “We urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.” Could it be possible, he wondered, that they could ignore Christ’s death? Did they doubt the message of Paul? Could they look at the cross and not see that the death of Jesus fulfilled the requirements of God?

“He,” Paul said, “will have died in vain if you do not accept His grace.” In other words, if we do not accept the death of Jesus as the door to eternal life, there is no life in Christ.

But what of those who have accepted God’s grace in Christ? The Psalmist expressed it in heart-touching words: “The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Can we ask for more?

Prayer:  Father, we love You and thank You for the hope that we have in You. We would live in vain without You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Today’s Bible Verse:   The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. Psalm 147:11


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