TROPHY OF GRACE
Romans 5:6-8
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Soon it'll be opening day of deer season here in Michigan. It's a special day that many wait impatiently for 364 days each year. The woods will be full of hunters anticipating a big buck to show up in front of them.
Over the last 38 years I have prepared countless deer stands for 1000's of hunters to come and hunt. Most of these hunters didn't put any effort into preparing for the hunt, they show up the day before season and go and wait for the deer to show up.
Some would say that these are not hunters, they're shooters. They didn't hunt the deer, they just sat in wait to harvest it. Yet that person gets the same blessing in harvesting a buck as the person that spent months scouting and planning, to get his buck.
This was similar to the story of Edmund Kopp. Edmund was going about his daily chores at his farm when he looked out into the field and there stood one of the greatest bucks ever harvested. Edmund got the rifle from his truck and took the buck home with him. No preparation, no long hard days in the stand, no pushing the brush with friends and family and no spending hours or days pursuing one of the biggest, most impressive whitetails of all time.... Nope, you might say that this buck was a gift. Edmund was in the right place at the right time. Compared to others that have taken huge bucks, some would say that this amazing buck wasn't earned, that Edmund didn't deserve it... But that's how it goes sometimes... you take the easy ones with the hard ones.
Edmund's story is really a parallel to a salvation story. And Edmund's buck is a story of God's Grace that brings us salvation.
Verse 8 of Romans 5 above tells us that we were still sinners when Christ died for us. We weren't anything special. In fact, we were still enemies of God when He sent His Son to die on our behalf. Now that's God's grace.
Ephesians 2:8 tells us that, it us by grace we are saved, through faith.... What is grace that we are saved by it? I've heard it said that, "grace can be defined as the unmerited or undeserving favor of God to those who are under condemnation. This simply means the same as Romans 5:6-8. We didn't deserve God's love, no, we deserved death. "But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
Edmund Kopp didn't really do anything to deserve that 242" record book buck... but he got it. All he had to do was accept it. The same is true of the gift of life from God... all we have to do is accept it. That's grace.
When Christ died and rose again from the tomb, He offered us a gift of eternal life. We can't earn it, we can only accept it. Romans 3:23 tells us that, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". That means none of us is worthy. That's where God's grace comes in. We're undeserving, but God offers His love.
If you've not accepted that gift, I challenge you today to do it.
If you have already accepted His gift, through grace, you need to be telling others about His gift for them.
Like Edmund Kopp, we don't deserve the gift we are offered, but when we accept it, our name becomes written in a record book as Edmund's name is... The difference is, ours is written in God's record book for all eternity. That's grace.
We become a "Trophy of Grace", because of God's love and Christ's sacrifice.
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
Click the button to sign up for Dean’s Daily Devotional. FREE and delivered daily.