Grace To All!

"By grace I understand the favor of God, and also the gifts and working of his Spirit in us; as love, kindness, patience, obedience, mercifulness, despising of worldly things, peace, concord, and such like." - William Tyndale

When we think about a gift it brings images to mind of something special, thoughtful, and personal that is given to another, such as a birthday gift. It is freely given, without any expectation of repayment to the giver.

As a rule, a gift is not normally handed out to reward bad or improper behavior. Yet, we are all recipients of a very special "gift" which we truly don't deserve at all. How is this even possible..? It is the gift of God's grace.

The word grace, as used in the N.T., is derived from the Greek word charis which when translated basically means "favor, kindness, or blessing." As I mentioned already, we are totally undeserving of this gift of grace.

Even so, God decided to offer us eternal life with Him instead of making us pay restitution for all of our offenses against Him with eternal death. By his mercy He held back punishment for our sins (Titus 2:11).

And by grace, God held out His hand to us in kindness so that we could come to Him in heaven. This takes on even more importance when we realize how corrupted we are with sin. So much so, that we deserve death (Romans 6:23).

Yet, as contaminated as we are with sin, God wasn't ready to give up on us. By his grace He sent Jesus Christ, His perfect Son as reparation, or payment, for the sins of humanity. And, Jesus Christ is the personification of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Grace is what saves us. It gives us victory over sin (Ephesians 2:4; James 4:6), "eternal comfort and a wonderful hope" (2 Thessalonians 2:16), and is at the heart of the Bible (Acts 20:24).

One does not have to be be an expert on how God's grace works in order to receive it. Pray for guidance and understanding and it will be given (Matthew 7:7-8). "Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love" (Ephesians 6:24).

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8; John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 4:7; 2 Peter 1:2

Prayer: May grace, mercy, and peace be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love, amen.

In Christ,

Libby