Wednesday Word: Made for More, part 2

Scripture reading for this post: John 20:1-18, continuation of last week’s post found here.

I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more.

Josh Baldwin, “Made for More”

Three more reasons why we are made for more:

1. We are washed in a fountain of grace.

The full line from the song says, “So why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way?” Because of Jesus, shame no longer defines us as believers. 

Shame is a powerful silencer. It drives us into shadows and forces our mouths to stay closed. Without the freedom Jesus gave in His healing, Mary Magdalene would have likely lived in crippling shame as an outcast of society, regardless of what kind of demons held her captive. It didn’t take much to become ostracized in Jewish society. Without His grace, she would have lived a dark and solitary life.

An acronym you may or may not have run across for grace is this:

God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

In His life, Jesus extended grace after grace, modeling how we should live. He healed those cast out of society by blindness, crippled limbs, bleeding, and demon-possession. He saw them, loved them, and turned their worlds upside down with freedom and healing. This is the path He walked all the way to the cross, where He paid the ultimate price for the sins of all on earth on that time as well as all who would come after (including us!), covering us all with His blood and the water that flowed from His side (John 19:34).

Through His sacrifice, we have forgiveness and freedom from condemnation. Romans 8:1-2 (NIV) says:  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, “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.”  Our salvation comes through grace alone. There is not one thing that we can do to earn our salvation. Our works alone cannot save us. Only Jesus can.

2. We are His!

Deep inside, we all have a desire to belong and be known. That core desire was placed inside us by God and is meant to be satisfied by relationship and community with Him. In Genesis 1, at creation, God said, “Let us make human beings so that they are like us” (v. 26). The use of plural “us” speaks about the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Spirit being in community with each other. Because of that community, God designed us to desire that same kind of community in our relationship with Him.

We try and try to fill the void inside us with many different things that are not God, but at the end of the day, only God can fill the void inside of us. Only knowing Him and being known by Him can fill that deep need inside of us.

When we walk in salvation, we have the security of knowing that we belong to Jesus. Jesus Himself said in John 10, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (vv 27-29 NIV)

What a comforting thought–no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand. Many forces will try, and on this earth, we will never be free of Satan trying to distract us from walking with Christ.

But when we walk in the assurance of our salvation, nothing can take us out of the hand of our Savior. Paul wrote in Romans 8, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (vv 37-39 NIV)

We belong. We are more than conquerors. And last: 

3. We are made for more.

Friends, God has so much in store for us. Philippians 1:6 says that He began a good work in us and that He will carry it on to completion until Jesus comes back to take us home. Ephesians 2:10 says we are His workmanship, created to do good works in Jesus which He prepared for us. 

Our existence on earth is not intended to be monotonous. We are not meant to stay in one place and never grow or change. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV, emphasis mine)

I don’t know about you, but I want to live life to the fullest, to do the work He is calling me to do, to be more than just a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. I want my mist of a life to mean something while it’s existing. I want to water a garden or provide shade from scorching sunlight. I want to live a life worthy of the calling I have received (Ephesians 4:1) before my life is over.

Mary Magdalene’s story did not end there in the garden. Jesus commissioned her to go to His brothers and tell them that He was returning to God the Father (John 20:17). And she went and told the disciples about what He said to her. 

And I bet you something else–I bet she didn’t stop there. I bet she spent the rest of her days telling everyone about the Man who set her free from her infirmity, who taught the people such life-changing truths, and who died and came back to life. I bet there are many people we’ll meet in heaven who had their lives changed by the witness of Mary.

This should be our goal as believers–living in such a way that people find themselves changed and drawn toward Jesus because of our witness. This is our overarching ministry. This is the “more” we are made for.

Today and everyday we have a choice–stay stagnant or life in the “more”.

As for me, I want to dance in the fountain of grace. I want to move away from tending a grave. I want to embrace the more for which I was created.

Jesus never withdraws the invitation to live a life of more. Everyday He is reaching out His hand. Let’s come away from the grave and step into His grace–and find life abundant.

Blessings,

~Lynne