What is grace? For many it’s merely a girl’s name or half the title of a famous funeral song. But God’s grace is so much more than this.
In the book of Ephesians in the Bible we read that we are saved by grace, not by anything we do. Put a different way, it’s God’s unmerited favour. This means that when we come to realize and admit that we stand condemned by our own sin, God’s grace (His kindness we don’t deserve) reaches out to save us.
Unfortunately, many who have received this gift have fallen into a life of laws and regulations. When we do this, we lose much of our joy and freedom. We then struggle desperately to please God and others but never quite make the grade.
Others see grace as an excuse to be lazy and a loophole to continue sinning. This is just not true. The Bible tells us that by this same grace we are able to say ‘no’ to sin and are able to work harder.
In the book of Colossians, we read the following, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.”
This means that grace is the beginning, the end and everything in between in our walk with God. It’s not something we grow out of – rather something we live in daily.
God’s grace frees us, strengthens us, enables us and fills
us with joy and freedom.
Brian Dean is pastor with Lakeview Church in Quesnel.
