The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Revelation 22:21*
Having put in all the work of going to medical school and residency, it would have been a waste to have abandoned medicine, refusing to practice as a physician. Those seven years after college were transformative, turning me into a medical doctor. If then, I’d have just decided not to act as a physician, taking care of others, I’d have been abandoning who I was made to be.
Similarly, with recovery, having found it, I must share it with those who also need it. It would have been a waste if I’d have gone through the misery of my addiction, found recovery, and then insisted on keeping it to myself. In my case, being a physician in recovery has necessarily meant that I now must practice addiction medicine. To refuse do so would be to deny who I was made to be. I’d be abandoning my purpose in life, and I think I’d be miserable.
It’s the same with our faith. Faith means believing in God and then abandoning our way to follow his. In doing so, he saves us from ourselves as we find the grace, love, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Having experienced those things, we don’t get to keep them only for ourselves. Christ’s grace isn’t a secret gift meant to be hoarded. Rather, we are to be so filled with his grace that it transforms us and flows out of us into the lives of those around us.
This is a problem for a lot of us. We’re so filled with everything else that we can’t be filled with and transformed by Jesus’ grace. We cannot simultaneously drink of the world and drink of the water of life. To follow Jesus is to abandon ourselves (Luke 9:23). As Christians, we must be emptied of ourselves while being filled with Christ. Then, as we’re transformed by his grace, that grace flows out of us into the lives of those God has put in our lives.
This is our life mission as Christians – To be transformed by Christ and to share his grace with the world. Maybe it’s a kind word to someone who’s struggling. Maybe it’s financial help to a neighbor in need. Maybe it’s sharing the hope we have in Christ with someone who needs it. Whatever it is, it’s not meant to be kept to ourselves. As Christians, we’re to be transformed by the magnificent grace of Christ, and then we must give it away. That is our purpose in life. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
*Author’s Note: For those following along, today represents the final verse of the Bible. Though I started the blog in 2016, I began this trip through the New Testament back in April of 2019, over four years ago. Now, it’s finally finished. Next, I believe we’ll just start over at the beginning, in Genesis. Who knows how many years it will take to get back here to Revelation? Thanks for reading!