Word of the Week - Grace
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works." Ephesians 2:8-9
Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s love and mercy for us, His children. Grace in the context of our faith can by defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy”. In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, despite the fact we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously. This is the amazing grace of God our Father through Jesus. For me personally, I can relate best with the concept of grace when I think about my own children and grandchildren. They have my unconditional love regardless of what they do or don’t do to deserve it. Our Father in heaven sees us through this same lens but with a much greater love than we can even fathom. Meditate on this, it is truly life changing to realize how much God loves us and how He invites us into relationship with Him and salvation through His amazing grace.
God’s Amazing Grace is the essence of our Christian faith. Most of us have a hard time receiving and believing this because it is so counter to the way things work in the world, especially our merit based Westernized society. This is especially hard for those who come from more works-based tradition where they may believe they need to do certain things or behave a certain way to be accepted by God and the church. The truth is God’s grace is given to us before we ever deserve it, even while we are sinners and enemies with God. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8-9
Even though our cultural and social tendency is towards conforming to a worldly pattern to gain acceptance and success, the gospel is very clear on the fact that we literally receive our salvation as a free gift from the Lord by simply believing on Him and being in relationship with Him. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9-10 Outside of pursuing a relationship with Jesus, we cannot do anything to earn our salvation, which is why Jesus makes it crystal clear that there is only one way to the Father and it is through His work of the Cross. “I am the way the truth and the life, no one can come to the father except through me” John 14:6 What is more amazing is the fact that in the process of receiving salvation we become part of God’s family as co-heirs to His Kingdom.
Once saved, God desires for us to give our hearts and lives to Him and remain connected to Him through a daily abiding relationship, so we can receive His protection, benefits and power, and so we can fulfill the purpose He has for us while we are here on earth. If we receive His amazing grace of salvation and walk in an abiding relationship with the Him, we will have a grateful heart and desire to serve Him and thus we will do “good works” that He has already destined for us as part of His divine plan. Ephesians 2:10.
So, rejoice in God’s amazing grace and receive the full benefits of our faith and live the abundant life of the redeemed in Christ.
Have a great week and enjoy the fully sufficient grace of the Lord.
-Duane