A State Of Grace

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians 1:5-7

Each time I study the biblical subject of grace, I can’t help but be uplifted by it. Grace is “the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not necessarily because of anything we have done to earn it”. God is overflowing with pure goodness and kindness.  He has so much love for us that He gives us forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  In Psalm 103, there’s a laundry list of just some of the things God does in our lives by grace. The psalmist says, “may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things…The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins;”

It is grace and grace alone that God doesn’t give us what we deserve, but rather gives us what we need. We should be eternally grateful for the grace of God. We were basically in pretty bad shape before we met the Savior. We will never be able to answer what we did to deserve a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We were headed for an eternity separated from God. There was nothing we could do about it. We would never be good enough to earn our salvation. But God changed all that when He died on the cross for you and me.   

We can all relate to Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:8: “He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order.“

God’s grace is truly indescribable. I hope that each day we see, understand and are overwhelmed by His grace as we were when we accepted Him into our life as Savior. And I hope we not only understand God’s grace, but live it and give it to others.  

Discussion Questions: 

1. How can grace be summarized?
2. How can God’s overcoming, or irresistible grace be part of our lives this week?