Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 9:23, John 15:1-11, Ephesians 4:17-24, Colossians 1:9-14, 1 Timothy 4:4-16
I’ve been thinking recently about how our salvation means that we have been reconciled to God.
It’s a profound truth, and maybe that’s why I still catch myself sometimes, consciously or subconsciously, practicing spiritual disciplines as if being reconciled to Him is my spiritual goal rather than my resting state.
The truth is, practices like Bible reading, service, Sabbath, and others aren’t a path toward establishing a relationship with God. Instead, we do these things because we have a relationship with God. As believers, we serve and study and observe Sabbath because we want to more fully realize the privileges we have already been given in Christ.
We are already children of God.
We are already reconciled to Him.
We are already fully loved—as much as He will ever love us and as much as He has ever loved anyone!
No amount of prayer, obedience, or worship can make any of the above more true.
This may sound like semantics to you, but it really changed my view of spiritual disciplines. Are the spiritual disciplines we’ll explore in this Bible reading plan a response to God’s love? Yes, of course. But they aren’t a way to earn or keep that love. Instead, when I remember that my relationship with God is secure in Christ, it transforms these spiritual practices from a list of obligations into opportunities to more fully experience, enjoy, and abide with the God who made me and reconciled me to Himself.
Friends, I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favorite reading plans our team has ever offered. As people who have been reconciled to God, let’s approach the coming four weeks as an invitation to train ourselves in godliness. Let’s approach this Faith in Practice study trusting a Person, not a process. Jesus has already given us all we need, including this community of women in the Word of God every day (2Peter 1:3). Let’s be encouraged and encourage one another as we learn what it looks like to put our faith into practice!
Written by Raechel Myers
