In the midst of yet another winter storm, eighty miles away from where the Pilgrims landed in 1620, I sit behind double-paned windows nourished and warm. That first winter here was so harsh for the Pilgrims half of them perished before spring. I know my comfort is not the product of what I have done. I drive on roads others have built. I am warm because others bring fuel. I turn on a tap for water because others plumbed our city. I had strawberries today because others brought them here. Without others I would be like those first Pilgrims and not see spring.
None of us are self-made even if we are ignorant enough to think we are. So why is it that so many of us think we can be saved because of our goodness? It doesn’t make sense, especially when we understand our need for what others have done to enable our daily survival. How much more do we need the work of others, or should I say another, if we are to survive eternity. Paul, a man of incredible discipline, dedicated to a life of perfection, realized he just couldn’t do it. In Romans 7 he describes his painful failure. He wrote, “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” He finally calls himself a “wretched man.”
However, Paul knew where to find help. He wrote, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We live daily because of the works of others. We will live forever because of the work of an Other.
Written by Roger Bothwell on February 14, 2014
Spring of Life, PO Bo 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org