Reward vs. Gift

Romans 4:4-5 says, "When people work, their wages are not a gift. Workers earn what they receive. But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work."

My family and I (along with Mitchell Martin) had the privilege of attending the FCA Banquet last evening. Their focus is to proclaim Jesus as Lord. There were several analogies made to "the game of life" in the speeches given, but one thought that stuck out to me was this:

In sports, you have to really work hard and train hard in order to receive a reward. If you want to win a medal, you can only earn it by being the fastest, strongest, etc. Thank God salvation is not like that (although many of us view it that way). How many of us are still trapped in the mindset that we are trying to "win" God's favor or attention? Or that if we "work" really hard we can "earn" His love or get a medal? Yes, even the apostle Paul used a sports analogy in 1 Corinthians 9:24, but here he is talking about the self-control involved to run this Christian race with faith. He is not saying that believers have to earn the reward.

Ephesians 2:8-9 captures it well: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast". Athletes can boast when they cross the finish or have that medal draped around their necks. But Christians cannot make that claim for it is because of God's grace that we may receive eternal life. The medal that God hangs around our neck is not because of ANYTHING we have done, but all because of what Jesus Christ did FOR us.

Here are some pictures from the banquet. It was great to meet Jim Tressel (head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes). You may recognize the other two guys. I guess they are sort of into football, too...