“To give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.” Luke 1:77-78 NIV
If it were up to us to save ourselves, we would all be doomed. But, thankfully, it’s not up to us. Salvation is of the Lord. This comes through strongly in these verses. We did not go searching for Him; He came in search of us. He saw our helpless condition, took pity on us, and came down to meet our enormous need in the person of the Saviour.
This prophecy is steeped in the Old Testament. Two thousand years before Jesus Christ was born, God sovereignly chose Abraham, a pagan from Ur of the Chaldeans, and promised to make a great nation of him. Jesus Christ was the descendant of Abraham in whom God’s promises were fulfilled. God raised up John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, in accordance with prophecies made hundreds of years before. The point is that God did all this apart from human initiative, effort, merit or ability. God planned it, He prophesied it and He carried it out, despite Zechariah’s doubts and inability to father a son. The salvation God provides in Jesus Christ comes entirely from Him. We cannot do anything to earn it or work for it. All we can do is receive it. The tender mercy of our God means, as Paul puts it, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly . . . But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8). This runs counter to the commonly held notion that we can save ourselves by our own effort or ability.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, thank You for taking the initiative in saving us from our sin.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, we celebrate the fact that You are faithful and true to fulfilling Your promises in sending a Saviour, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your salvation, which is not of our doing, but all of Your doing. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Luke 2:41-52
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