Are you ready for some good news?
God is at work in you producing fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When you are immersed in grace, it doesn’t lure you into laziness and sin – it draws you into the abundant life!
When I was a sophomore, I played on the state championship soccer team at Page High School. Go Pirates! I use the word “played” loosely. More accurately, I was on the state championship team my sophomore year. I hardly played.
I remember one game when we were up by about five or six goals. Coach Osborne called, “Wright!” I looked up at him like I’d done something wrong. Why was he calling my name? And then I remembered, “Oh yeah, I play on this team.” He was putting me in the game. There were about three minutes left on the clock. We literally couldn’t lose. My presence in the game honestly didn’t matter one bit. But, of this I’m sure, there wasn’t a kid on that team that ran faster, tried harder or wanted to do well more than I. I threw myself into that game with all my heart for three minutes. Why? Because I was in the game! Just being in the game was more than enough cause to give it my all.
In His infinite wisdom and grace, God has put you in the game. Christ paid it all. Christ did all the saving work. There is not one thing you can do to add to the victory that Christ has already secured. But does it mean that you’ll live a life of no fruitfulness! Of course not. You are a co-laborer with Christ. Here’s the glorious mystery of being a child of God – you are guaranteed eternity with God so nothing you can do can make you anymore His. But, at the same time, everything you do matters because you are destined to bear fruit in this world.
Paul told the Galatians to not be deceived, whatever we sow, we reap. Everyday we get to throw ourselves into the things of the Spirit, not because we will be condemned if we don’t, but because there is a great promise that from the Holy Spirit we will reap sweet fruit.
The game has already been decided, but you’re in the game. Sow to the Spirit. Reap the fruit. And that’s the Gospel!
