It was snowing snowballs”
is rapidly becoming my favorite winter time expression since we
moved into the country in Upper Michigan. Over the last several
days, we received an accumulation of nearly twenty inches of unremittingly
boring white snow, at least it could snow in colors.
Twice, over the weekend,
I shoveled a two hundred foot long path out to the road only to
see it snowed under the next morning. Living east of a vacant
field, the prevailing Westerly winds pile up large drifts in the
driveway.
It was after the recent
holidays and we needed to go to the grocery store. Although we
are both visually impaired and do not drive a car, we have followed
the Lord, by faith, into the country where he has marvelously
sustained us, proving, to the skeptic, that Christ is able to
take care of his own.
Friends had offered to take
us to the store despite of the bad road conditions and inclement
weather. Thus we had a real need to clear a path so we could carry
our groceries to the house
Industriously shoveling
a narrow path through the drifted snow so I could at least walk
out to the end of the drive, I had reached the road. As the plough
had mounded a bank of snow on the shoulder of the highway, I was
actually shoveling in the road itself when a jeep with a snow
blade attached stopped and a young man, whose name is Rusty, leaned
out of the window.
“Do you want your driveway
plowed,” he asked me?
That would be nice, I thought,
but these guys with their ploughs, that I had seen traveling up
and down the road in search of work, would probably charge $40
to $60 to clear my drive and I couldn’t afford more then
$20.00, but it was still worth inquiring.
“How much do you charge?”
The man glanced at my shovel,
the length of the path and commented, “nothing, its free.”
With alacrity, I accepted
his offer and got out of his way. In twenty minutes, he had the
drive cleared to within a few feet of the garage and nearly forty
feet wide. When Chester and Shirley arrived, the folks who had
volunteered to help, they could drive almost to our front door
instead of slogging through a long, narrow path.
This incident, illustrates
the concept of righteousness by faith. My works, of clearing a
puny path, are contrasted to Rusty’s works of removing the
snow from the entire driveway. My best effort produced little
of note while his effort accomplished the task. Our bargain, that
wasn’t even sealed by a handshake, was simple, he did the
work while I got out of the way. When he made know his offer,
I had two options, to choose to believe or disbelieve, I choose
to believe he was honest and would do the work.
However, Christ does not
offer salvation or righteousness, nor do we accept it, for he
has already purchased these gifts and given them to us, therefore,
this incident would seem to fall short of illustrating spiritual
truth until it is realized that God regards the thought, of evil
or good, as the act itself, lacking only the opportunity or means
of implementation. Rusty cleared the driveway in his mind before
he cleared it in fact, therefore, the task was accomplished before
the actuality was realized.
The amount of work he accomplished
compared to what I could do with a shovel was so tremendous that
it awakened in my heart a response of appreciation and generously
for Rusty that wasn’t there before I knew him. These thoughts
were given expression an hour later when I purchased a fifteen
pound turkey and blueberry pie which I shall give him at the first
opportunity, not as payment for his work, but as a tangible manifestation
of the appreciation for the work he performed on my behalf. Thus,
when we understand and believe the value of the gifts Christ has
given us, our hearts ought to be enlivened with such a depth of
appreciation that it becomes our delight to obey his commands,
not as a means of purchasing these blessings, but as an evidence
of our appreciation for the blessings that we already posses.
Clearing the driveway of
snow represents the work of obedience that Christ requires of
his children. My best efforts, produced nothing of value, but
when I chose to believe that Christ has already accomplished,
on my behalf, my salvation and righteousness, then the works,
that Christ performs through me by faith and the motivation of
love it evokes in my heart, accomplish ten fold more obedience
then is possible when I work to purchase these gifts.
Many people misunderstand
this concept, believing righteousness by faith gives licence to
sin or disobedience while the reverse is actually true. We now
realize the greatest possible motivation to obey for it is Christ
who keeps the law through us by faith. We consent or allow him
to perform his Father’s will by getting out of his way or
by not resisting him. If I had refused Rusty’s offer, my
drive would still be impassible, if we refuse to believe that
the gift of righteousness is ours, then we remain in our sins,
fruitlessly shoveling a path to the road only to see our best
efforts go for naught as the winds fill the path with new snow.
Our work will never accomplish for us the desired goal until we
believe that Christ has already cleared the drive of snow and
our lives of sin. Then our hearts will glow with renewed fervor
and love for the Lord, we shall cease our fruitless endeavors
to purchase what is already ours through works and shall perfect
a Christ-like character that will enable Christ to cut short the
work in righteousness. Remember that it is Christ who does the
obeying, while our work is to do the believing. No one, who truly
understands and believes this concept, will be found continuing
in sin. This gives the lie to the idea that righteouness by faith
justifies disobeience.