"When I speak of a person growing up in grace, I mean simply this- that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, and his spiritual mindedness more marked."
J.C. Ryle
Close your eyes and imagine a decorated Christmas tree with beautiful lights and ornaments. At the bottom of the tree lie various wrapped presents. Your eyes peruse the sparkling treasures, as you assess the shapes, sizes, and potential contents inside. Pretend for a moment that each one of these gifts represent specific gifts given to us from God. We squeal at the box that contains joy and exhale as we open the box that contains peace. We are overwhelmed at the boxes that contain kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness. And then, your eyes stop and hone in on the largest and most extravagant box. What in the world could it be? This, beloved, is the box that houses God's grace.
Grace is defined as "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it." This spontaneous gift of benevolence is given from God to mankind. It takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God.
Salvation emanates from grace. It is "by grace we have been saved through faith; and that is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians
2:8-9). This plan of salvation was conceived before the foundation of the world ( 1 Peter 1:20) and is called God's "eternal purpose" (Ephesians 3:11). It is a gift we could never earn or deserve and it is given to us by Jesus, who is the "King of ages". ( 1 Timothy 1:17).
Grace does not stop there. We continue to grow in the grace we have been given. Dwight L. Moody says, "The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out. " This implies that maturation yields a recognition that our sin grieves God's heart. Alignment with God's holy standards of righteousness omits the excuses for our violations.
Charles Spurgeon says, "I believe the holier a man becomes, the more he mourns over the unholiness which remains in him." Repentance is a gift and a catalyst to our growth in Christ. The apostle, Paul, who arguably was one of the most effective advocates of the gospel, describes himself as the worst of all sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15).
Through our growth, we are strengthened and restored. Psalm 85 is a beautiful prayer for restoration, forgiveness, grace and mercy. It is a compelling petition for God to bring about new life after the Israelites had sinned and been exiled from their land. My favorite verses are as follows:
"Love and faithfulness meet together,
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
And our land will yield its' harvest.
Righteousness goes before him
And prepares the way for his steps."
(Psalm 85:10-13)
As we are being restored, we begin to have more insight that gives an accurate accounting of our weaknesses, as well as our gifts. We realize that God's "power is made perfect in weakness".
( 2 Corinthians 12:9). We also learn that grace can be strengthened ( 2 Timothy 2:1) and that it can be multiplied ( 1 Peter 1:2) when we need more of it.
God's grace for us is limitless! It can withstand the weight of all our sin and all of our need. There is an anonymous author who wrote, "The ocean will hold a boat or a battleship, and God's grace will stand any weight you put on it."
There is a balance between receiving God's grace and yet choosing not to abuse it. God extends His grace through love. John Stott's explanation is that "Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues." We reciprocate that love by choosing not to sin and waste the grace that is so very expensive.
The most interesting aspect of grace for me is that it was never intended to be contained- it was meant to be given to others. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, says, "Grace is not given because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them." God extends, and then so do we.
The cycle that God intended is not complete until our salvation produces good fruit. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Salvation produces good works which produces salvation.
God does not minimally supply us with grace. He lavishes His grace upon us so that we will abound in fruitfulness. "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." ( 2 Corinthians 9:8).
David Platt sums up the gospel very simply in his book Radical: "Enjoy His grace; extend His glory."
Specific burdens are placed on our hearts for His purposes. It is the place where our burden intersects with our gifting that produces our calling. It is so unique for each one us, and yet, so intentional by our Creator.
God's grace for us is so big- bigger than our sin, deeper than any pit we are in, and more vast than our wildest imagination! It is given to us freely and lavishly, as He pours it over us with generous liberality. He can never withhold it because of His radical love for each one of us. If you haven't already, then go ahead and unwrap the most precious gift you will ever receive!
"Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more- no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciation, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less- no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love."
Philip Yancey, "What's So Amazing About Grace?"
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