On the Coattails of Christ

“God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” — Luke 18:13

Our faith is not rooted in our performance, our prayers, or our spiritual résumé. It is rooted in Christ. The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable thought salvation rested on his own ability to impress God. He stood in the temple not to worship but to compete — with God and with his neighbor. But salvation is not a contest. It is not about winners and losers. It is about grace.

The tax collector saw reality more clearly: if salvation depends on me, I am hopeless. He knew he had nothing to offer God but his brokenness. And that is exactly where mercy meets us. Jesus Christ carries us into God’s presence, not on the strength of our faith, but on the strength of His own.

Paul understood this when he said, “I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). We are not saved by mustering up enough faith; we are saved by Christ’s faithfulness on our behalf. As Stephen Morrison reminds us, Christ has “thrown a ring of faithfulness around us,” lifting up our weak faith into His perfect faith.

That is why salvation is never a transaction, as though repentance or baptism were an admittance fee to grace. Salvation is not a cold exchange. It is a union — God sharing His very life with us. Christ is not just a problem-solver or miracle worker. He is our life itself (Colossians 3:4).

The Pharisee boasted, but the tax collector bowed. And in bowing, he discovered the greatness of God’s mercy. At the bottom — past the fear, past the performance trap, past the ego — we finally discover that Jesus Christ is our beginning, our race, and our finish line.

Are you still trying to earn your way into God’s favor, or have you rested your whole life on the coattails of Christ? 

Grace to you,
Cedric
Traditionalwriter@yahoo.com