GRACE-DRIVEN EFFORT

"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated." - D.A. Carson

Grace once again brings us into relationship with the Living God. Grace enables the transformation that God desires for us in His great love for us. But that is not the end of the work of grace. Carlson says it very well. Our old human nature still pulls at our being and attempts to dictate our doing. Grace deliver us from sin's power and penalty over us but it does not at first remove us from sin's presence. Unless we make an intentional effort to move closer to God and walk in step with Him, we will easily step away from the values and behaviors that reinforce God's grace within us.

The siren call of canceled sin is to say "you need make no effort to walk where Jesus wants you to walk." Or, "You don't really need to hunger and thirst after righteousness." And before we know it, we drifting away from grace's opportunities and blessings.

That's what grace continues to be at work - reminding us, drawing us close, changing us. Grace knows that the journey to our salvation is not the end of our journey. We are now assured our salvation for eternity, but without the continuing work of grace we will be not God's Holy person serving His holy purposes. You don't grow in grace by doing nothing. And grace is always pushing and prodding and empowering us to grow in Christ.