In 1977 my family was saved in an Assemblies of God church in Texas. I’m so grateful they did. I was just a little boy when my parents placed their faith in Jesus. The church taught our family how to follow Christ.
But growing up I struggled to understand God’s grace. I grew into adulthood with a belief that God was hard to please. There had been a lot of emphasis in my life on doing good works, as a result, I never felt I measured up. I knew I was saved, but I didn’t feel I was saved enough. There must be something else I have to do in order to please God. There must be something else I have to give up for God to be proud of me.
I knew verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Yet, inwardly I struggled to really understand God’s grace, and even today I still feel as if I am in the School of Grace class 101.
Fresh out of college, I began ministry as a youth pastor at First Assembly of God, Columbia, Missouri. The pastor was Albert Petit. I was 23 and he was 78. He had been the district superintendent for 12 years and had come out of retirement to pastor this church.
Pastor Petit is now with Jesus, but I have vivid memories of conversations in his office as we sat and talked about the Lord and ministry. We sat in his office and he talked to me about grace. At age 23 years old I was a sponge. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I began to grasp the grace of God. I learned it really is amazing grace.
Grace is a word we think we understand, especially if we have followed Christ for any length of time. But I’m discovering as I talk with people that many people are like me. Grace has been something we have struggled to understand. And even if we understand it, grace can be hard for us to believe and receive.
The word grace finds its way into our vocabulary all the time. Many people “say grace” before meals, acknowledging daily bread as a gift from God. We are grateful for someone’s kindness, gratified by good news, congratulated when successful, gracious in hosting friends. When a person’s service pleases us, we leave a gratuity.
So what is grace? A friend of mine says, “Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” Can I define grace? We can try, but it’s so great, so amazing, so powerful, it’s hard to describe by mere words. It is used more than 150 times in the NT, but what is it?
Grace is "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.” Grace comes from the Greek Word “charis” literally meaning “free gift.” It is umerited, unearned, and undeserved.
“What’s so amazing about grace” Philip Yancey writes, “From nursery school onward we are taught how to succeed in the world of ungrace. The early bird gets the worm. No pain, no gain. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Demand your rights. Get what you pay for.
I work for what I earn; I like to win; I insist on my rights. I want people to get what they deserve—nothing more, nothing less. Yet if I care to listen, I hear a loud whisper from the gospel that I did not get what I deserved. I deserved punishment and got forgiveness. I deserved wrath and got love. I deserved debtor’s prison and got instead a clean credit history.”
Isn’t that good? This is what God has give to you and me. We call it grace.
Today’s Challenge: Grace is a gift to be received. You don’t deserve it, and you never will. It’s impossible to earn. It can only be received. Let me ask…have you received God’s grace? If not, today is a great day to receive this wonderful gift.
