Grace

Grace – what is it?  Dictionary.com gives many meanings for the word grace:

• Elegance or beauty
• A pleasing attractive quality
• Favor or good will
• Mercy, clemency, or pardon

Although those are accurate definitions, they don’t quite explain the spiritual meaning of “grace”.  The word “grace” in the New Testament comes from the greek word charis (pronounce khar’-ece) which means favor, kindness, or blessing.  Grace is one of the most known characteristics of God.  You can’t mention God without mentioning His grace.  But still what is it?  Well, it’s quite simple, grace is God’s unconditional love for us.  It is mercy, or not getting what we deserve, in action.  Or better explained, grace is God’s blessings that we don’t deserve.  Why don’t we deserve them?  Because of our sinful nature.

His grace is truly a gift, it isn’t something that we can work for or earn.  I think that’s why it’s hard to understand at times.  It’s hard to wrap our minds around the idea that there’s a love out there that doesn’t require a condition.

We say that we love our significant others unconditionally, but really that’s not true….is it?  Do any of these sound familiar:

“I’ll love you just as long as you do what I want you to do.”  “I’ll love you as long as you don’t hurt me.”  “I’ll love you as long as you don’t lie to me.”  “I’ll love you as long as you become the person I expect you to be.”  

Oo! ouch!  That last one stung a little bit.  Of course these are things that we don’t necessarily say out loud, but they show up in our actions because it’s what we tend to think.

Our humanness doesn’t allow us to love in the same way that God love us, but we must certainly try to love others in that way.  The more we become like the son of God, Jesus, the less conditions we have on our love for others.

You see, God loves us so much that He gave His only son so that we can have life with Him forever! (John 3:16)  He wants us to be reconciled back to him, as sin created separation from God.  The sacrifice Jesus made for us so that we can have a way to be back with God, is God’s blessing to us!  Jesus did not have to sacrifice His life and God did not have to make a way.  But I am so grateful that they did!!

Thank you God for your Grace!!!