God’s Grace
Grace has been an important part of my Christian life from the earliest days of inviting God into my heart. Every time I think of the word grace, I hear the lyrics to the hymn, “Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin,” and I am humbled and in awe because His grace keeps on giving.
It may be difficult to understand how God could love you and me to the depths that He does, with our sinful nature, but He does. We don’t deserve it, but God is kind and wants the best for us. Simply said, ‘grace is the unmerited, unearned love, favor of God.’
“Grace is the love of God shown to the unlovely; the peace of God given to the restless; the unmerited favor of God.” ~ Justin Holcomb
He Wants Us at Our Messiest
I often reflect on the number of times that God has given me grace. Whenever I make a mistake and then beat myself up for not making a better decision or when I fail to take care of a promise or check on a friend in need, or even when my fuse grows short, and I lash out in frustration, He continues to show me grace. Even when I mess up hundreds of times, He continues to show me His ultimate grace and forgiveness because His grace keeps on giving.
God doesn’t want us to clean up, get all pristine, and then come to Him. He wants us to come to Him at our messiest, so He can help clean us up. And He does. When we commit to Him and walk in faith and trust, He is our deliverer.
Tweet This“Out of his fullness, we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” John 1:16
The True Measure of Grace
My Pastor shared this story recently on the true measure of grace. He calls it the paycheck story. “Your employer pays you a wage for the hours you work because they are obligated to. But in the spiritual realm, the wage we actually deserve is death. So instead of paying us according to our work, God gifts us according to His grace.”
When you hear grace explained like that, the appropriate response to God and His grace is to offer yourself as a living sacrifice. Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
God wants us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices–daily seeking to follow Him. We are to trust Him completely because His plans for us are good, pleasing, and perfect.
Live Daily by God’s Grace
As Christians, we can live daily by God’s grace and proclaim grace from every page of the Bible. He gives us forgiveness with a gracious and full heart. He is a generous, forgiving, and merciful God.
His forgiveness is the greatest gift of all. Because of the grace God gives you and me, we can provide that same grace to others. How blessed we are that His grace keeps on giving.
Prayer
Dear Father, I come to you today with open arms and giving myself to You. Thank You for Your lavish love and grace over and over again, especially when I’m at my messiest. I’m thankful I can proclaim Your grace from every page in the Bible and I am blessed by Your gracious and full heart every day. Your grace is sufficient for all my sins. Amen.
Blessings!
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