Devotion #1: Slacker

When I was in school, I dreaded two words: group project. I knew that meant there was going to be one kid in the group who would not do any work but would write their name on the final project, enjoy the rest of the group’s hard work, and the eventual grade. I am sure everyone has experienced this situation or something similar, whether that be in the workplace, church, or even our family and friends. This common situation is universally irritating, but in a way, Christians have been the ones to freeload off of the work of someone else. 

Right now, we are going through the book of Romans and this week, we are focusing specifically on chapter 9. Romans 9:30-32 states, “What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.” 

The work that I am speaking of is the work of Jesus Christ, and more specifically, the miracle of His death on the cross. What Christ did for us that day is He stepped in between God and us, taking the punishment that we deserved for our sins, giving us the opportunity of salvation, or as Romans calls it, “righteousness.” Something very interesting about Romans chapter 9 is that it also talks about pursuing righteousness through our actions. No matter what we do, we cannot earn our own salvation through our actions. Why is that? It is because if we were able to do it on our own, save ourselves from our own sins so we can be in a right standing with God, Jesus’ sacrifice for us would mean nothing. Our actions can never reach God’s perfect standards. Thankfully, He sent Jesus to reach them for us.  

Our relationship with God is the only time you should be glad to have written your name on a project you did not take part in. Jesus’ sacrifice is better than our efforts could have ever been if we were in control of making ourselves righteous.