Grace.
One of the most important concepts in the New Testament. Yet it's easy to throw the word around and lose sight of what it means. Beyond having a head knowledge, we also need to understand how to maximize God's grace in our lives.
There are volumes that have been (and will yet be) written about grace that we definitely can't get into here but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on the dimension of God's grace that denotes His enablement to do His will and please Him.
God has lavished His grace upon us (Ephesians 1:7-8, NIV). The question then is how do we respond to that grace?
In Paul's letters, we see 3 potential responses to grace.
1. We can set aside (ignore, disregard, frustrate) the grace of God.
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” Galatians 2:21 NKJV
This is when we do things in our own effort instead of relying on God's grace. We grit our teeth and try to power through by our own strength.
2. We can receive the grace of God in vain.
We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. II Corinthians 6:1 NKJV
This is when we acknowledge God's grace, maybe we have even see it at work in others, but we don't allow it have an effect on us (The Passion Translation), we do nothing with it (NIrV) or waste it (GNT). We say yes to the grace of God with our heads, but when push comes to shove, we revert back to relying on our own strength. When we face opposition, we do not use the grace we have received, but instead fold in defeat, thus opportunities to demonstrate the power of the grace of God through our lives are wasted.
3. We can harness the grace of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I Corinthians 15:10 NKJV
Here, Paul describes how he *uses* the grace of God. He draws strength, ability from the grace of God to do the things that God had called him to do. In different letters, Paul talks about "what God has accomplished in him" Romans 15:18 and other expressions of how grace is doing the work within him. He is being carried by grace. He labored…but yet not him, but the grace of God which was with him. Simply put, Paul cooperated with the grace of God that had been made available to him.
Good for you, Paul. What does this look like for me? In devotional life, it looks like not just waking up but standing up from your bed and going to another room when God wakes you up to pray in the morning... Put that grace to work! In relationships, it looks like calling that person or writing that email to the person that God has been nudging you to reach out to even though you honestly don't want to. Let grace enable you. You get the idea. Grace does not remove the exertion of effort on our end. Rather it powers it. It becomes grace-fueled effort which is different from flesh-driven effort.
So next time you are in a situation where choosing obedience seems hard. Remember God's invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace (Hebrews 4:16).
In the next blog titled “Finding Grace”, we would explore what it means to find grace and how to find grace. Watch this space.
CATEGORIES
SHARE THE POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA