by Eldon DeBoer
It has been said that our emotions are the responders of our souls. To narrow it down, when we ponder a particular truth, we may have an emotional response within our heart and soul. Should not all believers in Christ Jesus be enthralled by His grace message?
Interestingly enough enthralled was formerly used of being held in slavery. It then came to mean to be held “spellbound” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthrall). We may become captivated and overwhelmed with emotion when we contemplate the truth of the grace of Christ Jesus. When we know Christ Jesus and the message of His grace we should be enthralled. When we read with understanding verses like 2 Corinthians 8:9, we should be enthralled:
Interestingly enough enthralled was formerly used of being held in slavery. It then came to mean to be held “spellbound” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthrall). We may become captivated and overwhelmed with emotion when we contemplate the truth of the grace of Christ Jesus. When we know Christ Jesus and the message of His grace we should be enthralled. When we read with understanding verses like 2 Corinthians 8:9, we should be enthralled:
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (NASB).
Think of it! In eternity past God the Son chose to set aside the exercise of His attributes as God in order to be united with true humanity in the Person of Jesus so that He could serve us. He “became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” This should enthrall us! Knowing that our great God chose to do this for us should captivate us.The great God who created all things and is the King of kings became poor for us so that He could serve us. And by serving us in His death He defeated the devil and, therefore, we need no longer fear death (Hebrews 2:14-15). This should enthrall us! Christ Jesus took the sting out of death! (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
And so we serve Him and make Him Lord of our life (1 Peter 3:15), deciding to please Him again and again because of what He has done for us. We “love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We are enthralled with who He is and what He has done for us and so we keep on choosing to honor Him. While we often fail to do this as we should, by the Lord's grace and by His strength (John 15:5), we can recover and be forgiven (1 John 1:9) and renew our commitment to Him over and over again.
Fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3) and become more and more enthralled with Him and His grace message!
