"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, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
That's the whole point of today's post.
I'm asking for your definition of God's grace.
We talk about it. We live under its umbrella. We receive it every single day.
But what does that really mean to you?
How does it change the way you live?
Treat others?
Today. Right now. In your circumstances. With your blessings and challenges.
Someone reading this today may be struggling to understand. Have you ever thought about how you would explain it?
So I'm asking you:
What's so amazing about grace?
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I saw an anagram of Grace: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Because Jesus gave all at the cross, God gives us favor and blessing when we accept His Son
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of Teresa's anagram too. To me, Grace is a gift given by God to us...we don't deserve it in any way. But with each gift, it must be received or rejected by the recipient. I choose to receive. God loves me in spite of my flaws.
ReplyDeleteLoved meeting you in person, Donna! Your sweet spirit shines!
I love both of your comments. We tossed around this discussion in Life Group on Sunday night and the insights shared were wonderful. It seemed difficult at times to put it into words because the emotion behind it is so powerful. And Lisa, I loved meeting you in person, too! It was SO exciting to cheer you on as you won your award - WOO HOOO!! What a gifted writer you are, sweet Friend, and your smile radiates so beautifully.
DeleteDonna ... our pastor just defined the difference between grace and mercy ... "Grace"-God giving us what we don't deserve (forgiveness, etc). "Mercy"-God NOT giving us what we deserve (punishment, etc).
ReplyDeleteLove you, shelli
Oh...I LOVE what Shelli just said! DITTO! GRACE is what I don't deserve but so grateful for His mighty grace! Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteI agree, Cindy, that's a great way to phrase it, Shelli. Mercy is like a cop pulling us over for speeding and NOT giving us a ticket. Grace is like a cop pulling us over for speeding, NOT giving us a ticket, and giving us a $100 bill on top of it.
DeleteGrace.
ReplyDeleteIt's lavish.
Not just a little bit of it ... that leaves me parched and longing for more.
Grace.
It's forgiveness when I can't forgive myself.
Grace.
It's God showing up and embracing me when I can barely look at my own reflection in the mirror.
I was studying the meaning of grace a few months ago and two definitions of the Greek word, charis, jumped out at me. Grace is God's loving-kindness that draws us to Christ AND it is the what gives us the power to live a God-pleasing life. It's the match that lights the fire of love for Christ and it's the fuel that keeps the fire burning. Grace is what I need every day to stay close to Jesus!
ReplyDeleteOh, Beth and Sharla, BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL words ... and women.
DeleteGRACE - my favorite topic!!! I love continually learning about God's grace.
ReplyDeleteMy simplified definition is God's kindness that we don't deserve, and more specifically, undeserved FAVOR from God.
God gives grace, undeserved kindness, to everyone in a general sense (He sends His rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, Matt. 5:45). But the fullness of God's grace is revealed in Jesus. "From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another" (John 1:16).
Grace, God's favor, is demonstrated in a thousand ways to us in Christ -
- forgiveness of our sins,
- the GIFT of Christ's righteousness,
- the strength to endure,
- power to do things we couldn't do on our own,
- the fact that God takes pleasure in us and delights in us,
-the ability to enjoy God's Holy presence without fear or shame,
...and SO much more!
In fact, that is the whole concept of Grace - MUCH MORE! Not only do we not get what we do deserve (God's mercy), but God LAVISHES us with, not just a few, but a million things we could never deserve!
"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable RICHES of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." -Eph. 2:6-7
We can never exhaust the depths, the wonders, the riches of God's grace! May we grow daily in understanding and experiencing the unthinkable grace of our awesome God!
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
-Joanna
Grace is...amazing. Haha...thank you, John Newton.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously...I've heard grace described many times as unmerited favor. And that definition really encompasses it for me. Lately, the prayer on my lips most often is, "Thank you, God." Because I do feel he's given me such unmerited favor--I don't deserve his amazing love, his constant and unconditional forgiveness, his guidance and blessings and just the abundant security available to us every single day. It really is amazing.
What's also amazing--i.e. ridiculous--is that I don't spend more time dwelling on the awesomeness of his grace. I want to. Thanks for prompting me to think about it today. :)
p.s. SOOO lovely to meet you at ACFW!
Joanna, I wish your response could fit on a billboard. That, my Friend, is GRACE so eloquently stated that it points people straight to God. Beautiful!!
DeleteMelissa, your humility and humble spirit never cease to amaze me. You have such a heart after God. And YES, I loved finally getting to meet you!
A man is hard-pressed to accept an undeserved favor. He's got to wrestle through that idea from the ground up, particularly if he's used to boot-strap living, the idea of making it on his own.
ReplyDeleteMarcus, thank you so much for providing a man's perspective. Men are used to providing - a living, a home, family stability and security, and more. I can understand the difficulty men face with being provided FOR. Surrender is hard when men are used to conquering. GREAT insight.
DeleteFirst, yay for getting a Donna hug at ACFW! I'm sorry we didn't get to chat more. :(
ReplyDeleteSecond...grace...wow. If I were explaining it to someone, I'd probably explain it in terms we can understand, because, basically, it's really mind-blowing.
It's like God takes a poor person--someone with NOTHING but the clothes on his back--and makes him a millionaire. Food, cars, a private jet, a buzzing social life filled with amazing friendships, etc.
For no reason other than He loves us.
He doesn't really expect anything in return, except our love.
Not only that...but it's kind of like he made us millionaires and made himself poor. He traded places with us. Even though he knew we might squander his wealth.
When I think of it in those terms, I wonder, "What person on this planet would do that?"
No one.
And THAT is what makes grace so amazing.