I have been meditating on the word grace for a couple of weeks now. Since we started studying the book of John at church, I have become slightly obsessed with the word. John 1:16 is really what has fueled this passion about grace. The English Standard Version reads "For from this fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Grace is literally translated as unmerited favor. Favor upon favor. WOW!
God is so full of grace. It is the greatest gift a man can receive to understand and know the fullness of God's grace. It is through grace that we experience any other blessing that God would have in store for us. I would challenge any believer who focuses solely on the physical blessings of God to, instead, focus on the grace of God. It is not by bragging of what God has given us (home, car, marriage, job, etc) that is our greatest blessing. It is by bragging on the grace He has given to us through His son, Jesus Christ. Everything else that comes out of God blessing us is just residual to the real blessing of eternal life.
John 13:35 says "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. We can not fully experience God's love and display it to the world without understanding His grace, His unmerited favor toward us.
It occurred to me today that the fruits of the spirit correspond directly with our knowledge, understanding and experience of God's grace. A person full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control has understanding of His grace because it is only by grace that we can display, flow and pour out the fruits of the spirit.
I am so passionate about God's grace, and I pray that I can show His grace to everyone that I meet. I pray that I am filled with boldness, and that my spiritual gifts come into action when God has called me to share his grace with someone specific. I have so much stirring on the inside of me about this, and I'm sure I'll write more about it at another time. But for now, be encouraged to show grace to everyone you meet.
