Marvelous,
infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are
longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
(part
of the hymn Grace Greater than Our Sin by Julia H. Johnston)
Have
you spent much time thinking about grace? This is not an easy concept to
grasp especially when trying to comprehend the way God gives us and others His
grace. Some things that come to mind about grace are: endless, hard to
understand, incredible, freeing, accepting, forgiven, kind and generous.
There
are other thoughts or definitions of grace, but most of them fall short of what
God intends for grace to be and what grace will do. Maybe we ought just
give up. We can try to grasp God’s grace. We can try to live by His
grace and share His grace with others. That’s the point: we can try.
We will never get there.
For the grace of God has been revealed,
bringing salvation to all people.
Sin is no longer your master, for you
no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the
freedom of God’s grace.
And since it is through God’s kindness,
then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be
what it really is—free and undeserved.
I
long to be able to give this grace of God to the people I meet each day.
Yes, I am a pastor which means there is much interaction around me with people
who need God’s grace. There is nothing like talking to a person who is
hurting and seeing the light bulb come on as you explain how God loves them no
matter what. It is incredible when you talk to a person who has allowed
their past to cripple them and share that God’s grace gives us freedom from our
past.
In
the last week there are some people who stand out when I think about God’s
grace, yet some of these peeps just can’t get it. God’s grace seems to
elude them. It’s foreign and beyond reason. Fact is, God’s grace is
foreign and beyond reason to our human thinking. Grace is a God concept.
May God give us the capacity to grasp
His grace, to give His grace and to help people get grounded in His
grace.
NOTE: this post was originally shared
in March of 2012.
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