Daily Word of Grace # 59 (June 5, 2020)
One of my favorite sections in The Book of Common Prayer is “Prayers and Thanksgivings”, a veritable treasure trove. Among these beautiful prayers is this one “For the Mission of the Church”: “Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen” (816-817). This brief but theologically loaded prayer reminds us that God’s heart is for “all” (not just some) to come to God through Jesus Christ—that “God our Savior…desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). And the heart of this salvation, the heart of this truth is indeed the power of God’s forgiveness and the hope of Christ’s resurrection—which together ensure that yes, you are forgiven and yes, you do have eternal life—both solely through the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ shed blood atones for your sin and means you are forgiven—“in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Jesus’ resurrection means death is not the end of your story, for you too will be raised from the dead—“he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also” (Romans 8:11). Now, and especially at the end of your life, you need to be reminded that you are forgiven and that you are going to heaven—and that powerful prayer does just that.
Love and Prayers,
Dave