Grace Is More

What is grace? I'm not even going to pretend to understand or know the full extent of God's grace, because I know that I cannot. But what I do know is that we undervalue and underappreciate it. And I think that part of that is because we haven't taken the time to more fully understand what God's grace does. Too often, we see God's grace as simply the forgiveness of sin. If asked what God's grace was, we would give the "Christian" response of, "God's grace forgave me for my sins. Because God has grace, He completely forgives me and acts like it never happened." This IS great news, but as far as being a Godly thing goes, it's not even impressive.

And the reason I can say that is because that definition of grace is no different than what a normal person can do. And if a normal person can do it on their own (without God's help), is it really that impressive if God can? You, yes you, the reader, could walk up to me and punch me in the face for no reason. Now, that is a sin against me. As a fellow, sinful human being, I can choose to forgive you. Moreover, I can choose to completely forgive you. And even further than that, I can choose to completely forgive you and act like it never happened. I can continue my relationship with you in full forgiveness, choosing to act like you never punched me in the face. Would I do that? I don't know. But the point is, I could. A crappy human being just exhibited grace in the same way that many Christians would describe God's grace. In fact, non-Christian humans everywhere forgive other people and move on in that forgiveness every day.

So what makes God's grace so awesome? Yes, the above reason is part of it. It is great that God would look at us, forgive us, and move on from our constant sin. But there's more. What can human's not do that God can? Well, for one, if you punch me in the face, that sin effects you, just like every other sin. And no matter how hard I try, I cannot make up for how your sin effects you. No matter how much I forgive you, I can't do it. But God's grace can! The wages of sin is death . . . DEATH, but God's grace overcomes that. Sin separates us from God and keeps us from His inherent love and goodness, but His grace covers that. God's grace covers how our sins effect us spiritually. Think about that for a second; meditate on the fact that God's grace completely covers the effect your sin (once again, DEATH) has on your life and allows you to be molded into the being God has planned for you and allows God to move you into the plans He has for your life (abundant life - John 10:10). God's grace is what allows God to be more prevalent in your life; it's what allows God to help you love Him more; and it's what allows God to move you into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Himself.

Secondly, no matter how much I forgive you, I can't change you. But God's grace changes us. According to I John 1:9, God's forgiveness purifies us from ALL unrighteousness and reconciles us back to Him. God's grace and forgiveness gives us Christ's righteousness in God's eyes, a gift no human can give. In fact, in God's eyes, we are perfect.

Thirdly, God's grace gives us eternal life. While we were dead in our sin, God's grace gives us eternal life with the very one we rejected.

So don't put God's grace in a box. You will never be able to understand it completely, but that just means there is always room to understand it more fully. Pray that God will show you more and more what His grace has done for you, and realize the only reason God can do that is because His grace allows it. I have only given a couple examples of the wonderfulness of God's grace - there are many more! Read Ephesians 2:1-7 and allow God to show you something of Himself.

Why?

It's the most unasked question in the Christian language, and it's a shame. I've always been a "why" type guy, someone who questions things, especially in the Bible. At times, though, I've felt like a subpar Christian because I have the audacity to ask a "why" question of God. We get told all these things about God, read all this stuff in the Bible, and then are just expected to accept what it says because it's the Bible - accept God for who He is simply because He's God. But how much do you learn when you blindly accept? How much do you grow in your relationship with Christ when aren't willing to probe the "why" of certain things. Well, you certainly don't grow as much as you possibly could.
Recently, I started reading "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell, and in just the first couple chapters, he talks about asking questions and trying to understand Scripture. In fact, he deems it as a necessary part of reading Scripture. So why don't we ask "why?" I think it's because we are scared. We think that if we question or wonder anything about God or the Bible, then we are doing something wrong. But are we really going to make God that small? Are we really going to serve a God who is too small to answer a question or who is too conceited to be asked about His actions or plan? Even Abraham asked God, "Will not the Judge of all the Earth do right?" Abraham has the "audacity" to think that what God is doing is wrong . . . and he ASKS Him about it. And what does God do? He talks to Abraham and answers His question; He doesn't get made or self-righteous.
So don't be afraid to ask the why question. And don't fall into the trap of assuming you are the only one with that question, so the fact that you have it means your a terrible Christian. In fact, not only does someone else have that same question or questions, but there's probably been an entire book written about it. Ask those questions, and allow God to answer them for you, whether it be through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, or someone that you talk to.

Matthew 7:7 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

What I'm After

So, this may be slightly similar to my last posting, but it's MY blog and I get to do what I want, so HA! Recently, I've felt like God has blessed me by showing me what the life of a follower of Christ can be. He's showed me the peace, hope, and joy that we have through Him and our relationship with Him; He's showed me His redeeming power and how He is willing to accept us when we come back to Him; and He's shown me that He has great plans for the lives of his followers. It's been great to see these things, but then, on the other hand, I've also seen that I don't possess a lot of this. So although it's great to further realize the life a Christian can have as a follower of Christ, it's been difficult to see that I don't have a lot of it.

So what's the answer to this. Can I magically conjure up more love for God and a deeper, more personal relationship? Well . . . no. So where does that put me? Well, it puts me in one of the hardest, but also best, places one can be put - in reliance on God. I know that I lack some of the awesome things God and His Holy Spirit provide through a relationship with Jesus, things that go beyond the material. But I also know that I am asking the most powerful being ever to help me with those things and provide them for me. So I'll keep praying to know God more, to love Him more, and to experience a deeper, closer, more intimate relationship with Him that leads to a changed heart and a greater sense of peace and satisfaction in my life. I know God works in His own timing, but hopefully He'll get crackin' on this one pretty quickly :)