If someone had told me forty years ago, in early 1983, that I would be celebrating forty years of following Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit and serving as the pastor of a church I planted thirty years ago this coming September, and that my youngest son would turn thirty, I would have said they were full of something.

I was supernaturally swept into the kingdom of God in October of 1983, and what a glorious journey it has been.

I was not in search of anything better way back in early 1983.  I thought I was living well and enjoying myself.  I knew that much of what I was doing wasn’t exactly what I should be doing, but it was fun and how I had chosen to live my life.  I was not thinking of the future or on the right path for anything promising.

I had nothing to offer God that would have impressed Him. Thankfully He wasn’t looking for what a dead in sin man could offer Him.  He wanted to provide me with life in Christ Jesus.  The Bible sums it up better than I can.

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Even after four decades of knowing Jesus, I have nothing I can boast about because He has kept me by His grace.  My boast in being righteous is a boast in the work of Jesus!  Any endurance or faithfulness attributed to my life is a testimony of God's endurance and faithfulness, who has held me fast in the grip of His love and grace.

There truly is nothing like having a real relationship with God through knowing Jesus.

When I consider the passage we just read in Ephesians, one of the things that stands out to me is how it shows that God isn’t caught up in my accomplishments for Him.  He looks forward to showing off the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ!

God is up to something!  God is showing off His kindness towards us in Christ!  His doing this is not based on how wonderfully we can prove we were worth being saved.  It is based on Christ alone and has nothing to do with our efforts.  God is looking forward to boasting about Jesus and the incredible plan the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit put together in eternity past.  That means He is committed to our growth and transformation, energized by the Holy Spirit.

I love how verse ten speaks of how we are His workmanship.  My Maton acoustic guitar was handcrafted in Australia using only the best Australian wood, and they only have so many highly skilled guys who work there.  That makes each guitar unique.  They aren’t mass-produced on a factory assembly line.  You weren’t mass-produced.  A Master Craftsman has crafted you in Christ Jesus, and you are unique.  He designed you to be unique so that He can display His handiwork made possible through Jesus.  There’s only one you in all the world, and Jesus living in you and through you will produce a unique expression of grace. We were created for good works in Christ, works God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.  The Holy Spirit empowers us for this, so today, you have the privilege of engaging in the very thing you were created for and enjoying knowing it’s the will of God for you.