Reading: Luke 1:39-56, Ephesians 2:1-10, Psalm 119:17-24, 1 Kings 4-5

Recall:
King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel; the levy numbered thirty thousand men. 1 Kings 5:13

All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:3-10
Reflect:
1 Kings 4 and 5 is a description of how the wise Solomon went about his business. It relates how his subjects were organized to supply for his needs. Then it describes how Solomon decided to build the temple his father was not allowed by God to build. Solomon "conscripted forced labor out of all Israel." In other words, Solomon built the temple with slave labor. This is the wisdom of God?! What's up with that?

Ephesians 2 is such a powerful passage. Ephesians 2:8-9 was drummed into me growing up, but, like so much of the theology that I was exposed to, it only tells part of the story--a very small part. We have to back up and look at the big picture. In 4-7, Paul imagines us "alive together with Christ...and raised...up with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace toward us in Christ Jesus" Wow! Good stuff! And why? Why did God do this for us? V.10 "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Shazam! Bang! Here it is! So incredibly simple. Seven verses that explain the whole thing. Jason is a glorious child of God, seated with Christ, created to do good works. Let's get on with it boy!

Respond:
Gracious, glorious God. No longer will I deny who I am. I will waste no more time. I want to remember in every moment of my life who I am and why I am here.