On Grace

I’ve been thinking about grace quite a bit recently. Sometimes that happens to me. An idea or concept gets stuck in my head and I just can’t shake it. It’s a splinter in my brain.

Grace has been like that over the last few days.

I just can’t shake the reality of grace. I keep thinking about a conversation we had one night at my friend Bob’s house. He asked a simple question, “What’s grace?” Everyone sat there quietly. I of course piped up with the Cru answer, “Unmerited favor.” His response, “What’s so amazing about that?”

What’s so amazing about grace? What is it about grace that inspires people to write songs and sing? What is it about grace that inspires some of the most beautiful literature ever written (think Les Miserables)?

Bono wrote, “Grace is an idea that changed the world.”

I remember my grandmother saying on more than one occasion, “But by the grace of God go I.”

What is it about grace?

Certainly grace is defined as “unmerited favor.” But that textbook definition does little to inspire. I wonder if grace in action is something that inspires us and draws us in more than understanding the word?

Grace is what transforms a weary heart into a heart full of life and joy. Grace is that moment when something happens and you look around and can’t quite believe it.

When I read Ephesians 1 grace overwhelms me.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV)

It is by God’s “glorious grace” that all things are reconciled to him. I think that really is at the heart of what makes grace amazing. It’s because somewhere in each of us, when we experience that which was lost or broken being found and put back together, we know it’s a picture of what God is doing. We might not say it, we might not even believe it, but deep down, in places we don’t talk about at parties, we need grace, we love grace, and we want grace and are drawn to it.

What would it look like for you to live a life where you pursue reconciliation and peace with those around you? What would it look like for you to be and agent of grace? How would you change if you looked for amazing grace everywhere you went?

The post On Grace appeared first on The Journal by Daniel M. Rose.

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