Lutheran Culture Scratches Our Spiritual Itch

You may have heard me say on this blog, a time or three, that of all Christian venues through which my wife and I have traveled, the Lutheran pathway not only is working for us, but also has provided purpose for our lives.

Yesterday, once again, we received another confirmation of this during the sermon by our Pastor, the Rev. Jim McEachran, a gifted scholar and Bible teacher.

Before we get to his Bible text, it may be worth noting that we’ve often used the phrase, “living out the Grace of God in our everyday lives” as sort of a summary capsulization of how we’ve come to understand what it means to live the Christian life in Lutheran terms. By the way, Lutherans love “grace,” as did Martin Luther himself.

The core of yesterday’s sermon text was the familiar message of Ephesians 2:8-10, but for some reason, the way the NRSV Bible translates the 10th verse really struck me yesterday. Here’s the passage:

“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.”

Italics on verse 10 are mine; that's the portion that stood out to me yesterday. If that verse doesn't provide an excellent rationale and wonderful perspective for "living out the Grace of God in the world,” I surely don’t know what would.

Thanks be to God.