'If His grace is an ocean, then we're all sinking...'
Lately I've been dwelling on grace. This past Sunday I attended my home congregation from high school, and the message was largely centered upon it, I'm currently reading a book called The Ragamuffin Gospel which focuses solely upon it, and a few days ago I met a girl with a cross tattoo made up of the words 'saved by grace'. It's been all around me, and so I've been acknowledging its presence and allowing the concept to sink in.
Grace is bestowed upon us in Jesus (Ephesians 1:6).
Grace is received in abundance (Romans 5:17).
Grace is the condition for the Christian (Romans 5:2).
We've been given grace, and not only has it been offered but it has been extended to us freely and without expectation of payment or an 'IOU'.
I think oftentimes we forget this last part-that our salvation by grace through faith is a free gift that we could never earn or pay back.
Why is this?
I think it has something to do with that three letter word that, without our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, would fester up inside of me until it consumed my very soul from the inside out.
Sin, that's it. I think it has something to do with sin.
It's something that is a part of me, and it's a part of you, too. Sin is a heart problem, and one that I know all too well.
So, how is it to be comprehended, that a good God would reach out His hand to grab mine and pull me, dripping and covered, from the mud and muck in which I got myself into? I don't think it can be understood.
It also should not be forgotten.
Not only should we remember that we have been given grace, though this is true, but we should also daily remind ourselves of the time in which this act happened: at our darkest hour. God loved us at our darkest. He saw us at our worst and responded with grace.
Not only did He do this, but He continues to. Every moment of my life, every single day, He is offering out His grace, weaving it like a thread into the tapestry that is my life. If my life is a novel, then God is authoring it with words of grace.
Even when I spill ink all over the pages or misspell words, or when I miss a stitch and unthread the entire masterpiece. If I let Him, He will fix it.
It's beautiful. It's scandalous, this grace that I've received.
A truth I remind myself of daily is that though I have accepted this grace, freely offered, I am still messy. The only difference between me and someone who does not know Jesus is simply that. Both I and the person next to me are sick, but the difference is that I know the Great Healer, and He delights to heal.
Now, there is one theological topic that arises here that quite honestly I don't understand fully, and I do not think anyone does. It's true that believers should walk by the Spirit, and a life that is submitting to God will bear good fruit, but at the same time no single person is perfect-even after accepting grace.
I have accepted Christ, but I will still fail until the return of the King. My flesh is still my flesh.
This is the beauty of it, really.
I think every day we should be acknowledging our sins, admitting our falterings, and presenting to God our brokenness, because only in our weakness is He made perfect. The grace of God cannot work without an offense to work upon. We need to remember this-that any goodness and sanctification in our lives is the work of God happening by the grace of His name.
God offered grace when He saw me at my darkest, but the redemption story does not stop there. God offers me grace every single day, because every day I need it. The grace of God works itself into the lives of messy, ordinary, sinful people every single day.
I think this is vital to remember, this happening of grace. Putting this at the forefront of my mind, keeping it written on my heart, keeps me humble. It reminds me not merely who I am but who God is.
Each of us is broken, and this is what makes grace beautiful.
Once we grasp this-or once we grasp that we cannot grasp it at all-we are then able to extend grace, to ourselves and to other people. We are able to live in freedom. We are able to love. Grace is able to saturate our thoughts and words, flowing from our being like sweet honey.
Once we receive grace, we are able to, in the words of John Greene, 'simply suck at life sometimes'. I do not mean that we are to let grace abound, but we must know two truths: we will mess up in this life, and God loves us regardless. He is good. He is kind. He is slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness.
He is overflowing with grace.
When thought about, it seems as if God has always worked through fallen beings. David, a man after God's own heart, was a murderer, a rapist, a military fiend, a lier, and much else. Rahab was a prostitute. Solomon was a hoarder of wealth and women. Jacob was a deceiver and Mary the mother of Jesus was a pregnant, unmarried teenager.
The kingdom of God happens in the most unlikely places. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of grace, and it is most unexpected.
Perhaps this is the beauty of it.
Check out the following post by Dr. Beck, posted yesterday-an excellent read: Where God Begins
