I regularly get the opportunity to speak with individuals about the Bible. This is one of my greatest joys, especially when I get the chance to meet regularly with a person or group of people, where we can build upon the things that we talked about before. And one thing that I really take a lot of joy in is talking about God's grace that He gives so freely to us.
As I've read more of the Bible, and as I've come to a greater understanding of God's grace, I've also come to realize just how radical and even controversial that grace can be. The root of the word that we translate as grace comes from the Greek word "charitas", from which we get our word charity. Just imagine if you were to read through your Bible, and every time you encounter the word grace, you replaced it with charity. Do you think that it might make a difference in how you understand those different Bible verses?
That's the thing that I have grown to see about God's grace, and that I still find myself struggling with. Grace is, by its nature, undeserved. We never do anything to deserve charity. Instead, it's something that is given to us because we have such a need. When this comes from God, it means that God gives us freely of those things that we do not deserve. God forgives us, even though we have done nothing to deserve it. God makes us His own people, even though we are rebels and sinful and want to exalt ourselves. God gives us an inheritance of a life that never ends with Him, even though we daily sin by our thoughts, words, and actions, and even though, at the heart of who we are, we are sinful.
To believe that we do absolutely nothing to receive God's grace is downright humbling, and even offensive to us as humans. We want to believe that we do something, even if it's simply choosing to believe in God. We want to think that we have to understand God and His grace before we can receive such grace. We simply cannot stand that God would give love and forgiveness freely, without any action or activity on our part.
Grace isn't so difficult to understand, at least in terms of what it is. That God freely gives His grace to usis really what is so challenging. And that's why, in the end, it has to be that way. You and I, as humans, simply cannot fathom that God would give such priceless treasures so freely, and so the only course left open to God is to give them in that way. Thanks be to God for His grace!
As I've read more of the Bible, and as I've come to a greater understanding of God's grace, I've also come to realize just how radical and even controversial that grace can be. The root of the word that we translate as grace comes from the Greek word "charitas", from which we get our word charity. Just imagine if you were to read through your Bible, and every time you encounter the word grace, you replaced it with charity. Do you think that it might make a difference in how you understand those different Bible verses?
That's the thing that I have grown to see about God's grace, and that I still find myself struggling with. Grace is, by its nature, undeserved. We never do anything to deserve charity. Instead, it's something that is given to us because we have such a need. When this comes from God, it means that God gives us freely of those things that we do not deserve. God forgives us, even though we have done nothing to deserve it. God makes us His own people, even though we are rebels and sinful and want to exalt ourselves. God gives us an inheritance of a life that never ends with Him, even though we daily sin by our thoughts, words, and actions, and even though, at the heart of who we are, we are sinful.
To believe that we do absolutely nothing to receive God's grace is downright humbling, and even offensive to us as humans. We want to believe that we do something, even if it's simply choosing to believe in God. We want to think that we have to understand God and His grace before we can receive such grace. We simply cannot stand that God would give love and forgiveness freely, without any action or activity on our part.
Grace isn't so difficult to understand, at least in terms of what it is. That God freely gives His grace to usis really what is so challenging. And that's why, in the end, it has to be that way. You and I, as humans, simply cannot fathom that God would give such priceless treasures so freely, and so the only course left open to God is to give them in that way. Thanks be to God for His grace!
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