June 2 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Saving people from death and hell is not God's ultimate plan. It's too negative. The good works of new lives was God's objective in giving us Jesus.

Urban renewal begins with the tearing down of slum dwellings. But the purpose of the job is the erection of new houses. Fields are not merely plowed to kill the weeds. The harvest of a new crop is the goal of the farmer.

So when we speak of God's saving grace, it is not enough to talk of the misery that was removed. We need to say something about the newness that has come. God did not do all his saving work merely to snatch us from the fire. God wants to change us so that we will bear the image of Christ.

You must not only know that you are saved and how you are saved but also for what purpose you were saved.

God's love removes all the debris of the old and dying city. That happened at Golgotha. But the power of God's grace is really seen in his creation of a new humanity in Christ. The resurrection was the beginning of all that is new and good.

Grace saves and transforms selfish human beings into new people who produce good works. And that's the aim of God's grace. It takes a lot of hard work on the farmer's part to remove the weeds. He does not work so hard because he hates the weeds but because he loves the crop.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God is the workman, and we are his products, his "handiwork" or "workmanship," as some Bible versions say. And when this architect-workman started his gracious work, he had a design in mind that he "prepared in advance." God's objective was the good works of a new people.

REFLECTION

How is God's renewal project going in your life? What signs do you see of the newness God is looking for?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.