"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
-Ephesians 2:8-9
I actually got myself up early this morning and did my devotions. This is quite the accomplishment because I am NOT a morning person, I'm not even a mid-morning person! After reading a couple of different things, the following devotion from my Mom's Devotional Bible stood out to me. I think it stood out to me because I've had several conversations in the past couple of months with people regarding "GRACE". What does it mean? Is it really free? Why don't I have to work to get it? Why does it replace the law & the 10 commandments?
Why is something that is a FREE gift seem so hard to understand sometimes?
At any rate, here is the devotional - read it - it's good.
Charis, the Greek word for "grace," is one of the most difficult Greek words to translate into English. Words like favor, beauty, thankfulness, gratitude, delight, kindness, and benefit are all derived from the root that gives us the word grace. If we have a tough time translating the word, it's no wonder we struggle to comprehend the concept of grace.
Digging through Scripture, we can come up with a picture of grace. Grace is always tied to the heart and character of God. In Deuteronomy we're told that God drove out Israel's enemies not because Israel deserved his intervention, but because he chose by grace to fulfill his word to his nation. In Isaiah we see that God longed to demonstrate his grace to a disobedient nation. In Jeremiah God underlined his grace by promising to bring Israel back from captivity.
Grace is God's character demonstrated in undeserved love. In fact, grace is God. It is his character illustrated in our lives with the scrawled signature of a cross.
Dear Lord, please help my child (and me) to comprehend your grace. May it not be just a dusty doctrine he mouths by rote during the recitation of a creed. May my child (and me) know your grace by experience. May he come to see grace as you, offering acceptance in place of rejection, favor in place of judgment, forgiveness where condemnation is deserved. Amen
1 comments:
Undeserved love. I don't think I've ever heard it in those exact words. Or maybe I've never allowed it to penetrate quite the way it does this morning, at this exact angle in my heart. How undeserving I am, not just of His forgiveness, but of His LOVE for me. And how thankful I am for the free gift He continually lavishes upon me.
Thanks for sharing, Andie! :)
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