PODCAST
More of His Grace To Know
August 9th, 2012
Titus 2:11-15
“But I don’t understand.” Cliff, one of my more thoughtful senior high youth group participants, looked at me with bewilderment lining his face. “When we give our lives to Jesus and accept his gift of salvation, why doesn’t God just take us to heaven then to live with him?”
I have heard others ask the same question over the years. In a way, it would truly be wonderful to not have to deal with the trials and temptations of the world. On the other hand, not only does God use us to reach others for him, but, if we zoomed straight to heaven, we would miss out on seeing God’s personality and gifts expressed through us.
If we went straight to heaven, we would comprehend God’s saving grace, but we would not know other aspects of his grace. We would not experience the grace that keeps us from giving in to temptation, or the grace which enables us to live holy lives. We would not comprehend growth in grace. We would not learn of the grace that enables us to forgive others, or the grace that helps us endure until Christ’s return.
