Grab on to grace

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

Grace.  The undeserved favor from God himself.  We did nothing to earn it, but He freely grants it to each and every one of us.  Grace is such a precious gift, but too often we get caught in a mindset of thinking we can sell it or buy it.

It breaks my heart to witness people burden by the weight of guilt in shame.  Satan wants our minds twisted into thinking that we are still cursed by the law.  He wants us to devalue who we are to God.  To think that our present  circumstances or suffering is a result of our lack of faith or that we are getting what we “deserve”. But hear this; hear the truth…

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,  because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 12:1-2)

The therefore lets us know that the truth is based upon a previous action or statement.  The action is the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God.  However, God made a decision way back when Adam and Eve committed the first sin to save us from ourselves.  He made the choice to freely  give his life in exchange for ours.  So rather than get what we “deserved” we receive blessings and a hope. ( Romans 5:5-11)

A hope that is not based on our actions or transaction, but solely on Christ.  A hope that is grounded in the grace that He offers freely to us.  So let's stop trying to cheapen the gift by buying it.  Let's stop trying to make it better by setting additional conditions on it.  

Here is the only condition for grace: receive it.  Receive His love!

Receive the freedom that He offers you to live life free from the burden of guilt.  Sin locks you up, but the Son sets you free. 

When you receive His unconditional love you get off the “tit-for-tat” train.  You realize that you can never out give God so instead you just love Him as hard as you can and with all that you’ve got (Matthew 22:37).   That’s all He really wants for us, to love (John 15:12).

 Everything else will fall in place because we then live to show love and not just produce works .  Because the reality is that we don't produce anything we just walk in what He has already prepared for us.  Christ in us the hope of glory( Colossians 1:27) is doing the work, we are just the vessel He chooses to use (Ephesians 2:10).

 So grab on to grace and grasp onto His love. Spread it around freely.  For perfect love casts out fear and allows us to simply walk with Him. 

Father thank You for your grace.  Thank You for your love.  May we hold firmly to what you freely give us and treasure it and may we share it with others. In Jesus name. Amen