What does God’s grace look like?
- God has thoughts of peace; He never has thoughts of evil or hate.
- He invites us to join Him in His love, gratitude and truth at all times; it’s basically an open invite since He also gave us the gift of free will.
Now, what is the difference between “mercy” and “grace”? Mercy is how God’s goodness confronts human misery and guilt. Grace is His goodness directed towards human debt and merit; He gives merit was there was none. He bestows His benefits to the undeserving, and in the same way, He wants us to spare the guilty and bring the outcasts in with welcome arms. God is who He is; no power in the world could change Him because there is no one or nothing more powerful than Him. And that’s not even the best part: He changes our prison garments that are dirty and torn, for His royal robes made out of the finest fabrics, soft and pristine to the touch.
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” –Lamentations 3:22
The words “mercy” and “grace” are organically one, BUT they are also separate (as said above); they are basically fraternal twins. As an example of His grace, He gave us His son, Jesus. He sent Him down in order for Him to give us redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, along with the knowledge (and the mystery) of His will; that’s exactly what He did, making it possible for us to receive all of that and more ONCE we’ve accepted this sacrifice as an act/example of love, knowing that we didn’t deserve it, and yet, we have it because of HIS love for us. We can be known now, we are chosen by Him. He will mark us with His seal (the Holy Spirit) once we choose Him; the seal of His Spirit is also our own inheritance policy (in present day terms) to show that we are not only His, but we can also be assured of our eternity in Heaven when it’s our time to leave this world.
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ!” –Romans 5:17
Grace denotes goodwill, kindness and benefit; basically, His grace includes undeserved favor, unexpected acceptance and unconditional love. Imagine that though: you are automatically a priceless gem, a unique jewel that THE most important being treasures! That gives me chills just thinking about that, just knowing that regardless of how people view me, God views me as if I was THE most valuable treasure. And the fact that He not only views me that way, but that He actually CARES about me in that way, that it’s a reality and not a fantasy. He is the mysterious knight, riding in on a white horse, ready to sweep me off my feet and carry me away: what a picture! Don’t all little girls imagine their future romance, their future love as if we are princesses, locked in an ivory tower, waiting for our mysterious prince to come and rescue us?
Guess what? He came! But He came in the most unusual way, and He didn’t directly rescue us as we often imagined he would. Instead, He lived a life of being persecuted; performing miracles and spreading a love no one deserves (grace), only to end up being beaten, humiliated, scarred and hung on the cross WE deserved. He kept us securely locked away in our towers where no harm could come to us; BUT, He rose again 3 days after his death! He paved a way for us, allowing us to choose Him, to freely come out of our own towers (when we were ready) and come running into His waiting arms! What a love story! He promises us a way to eternal life, and all we have to do is CHOOSE him, choose NOT to sin (which we can do, if we are TRULY following in His right way -> see the last blog) and live our life spreading grace to everyone around us. We are meant to grow His Kingdom, to share about how He died for us because of His unconditional love, undeserved favor He shows to us, and His unexpected acceptance for who we ARE! God wants to mold us into who we were made to be, but that will include challenges and tribulations.
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” -1 John 3:14
We live in an entitled world, where we think we deserve everything, where we want the next best thing and live each day unsatisfied because we look for things/people to satisfy us instead of seeking God. Don’t you know, God is the ONLY one who can satisfy every single need; if you need a bigger, more direct picture, not even those who are currently married will be able to find true, complete satisfaction in their spouse or in their family. That’s why God made the marriage covenant the way He did: no marriage can exist (in a healthy way at least), unless He is at the CENTER of your marriage. Could He be made the center of your marriage? Yes, He could; but you have to BOTH be willing to accept Him in, to make it a point to have your marriage honor and glorify Him. Marriage is a beautiful thing; it is a gift from God! When we choose to honor Him, everyday and in everything, we will begin to see that it really IS better this way! Have your eyes on Him, through every aspect of your life and in every way: you will begin to see that it will be WELL with your soul.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9
