NOTES for Luk 12:39-48

People get used to everything: quickly to what is good, more slowly to what is bad, but they get used to that too. This is probably why the apostle Paul pays so much attention to how those who have recognized their liberation from sin will live. Our salvation is accomplished in eternity, but we receive it in time. It is easy to grow accustomed to the astonishing gift of freedom from sin and life in grace, and just as easy to return to living according to the old laws. The Gospel reminds us how abhorrent life becomes for one who “knew but forgot,” and at what price our life was bought. The point is not that we should fear punishment for returning to sin. Our task is never to become accustomed to the fact that our life and grace were bought at the price of Christ’s blood.