Marvelous Grace

“For the believer, harsh, critical, impatient, and irritated responses to others are always connected to forgetting or denying who we are and what we have been given in Jesus.” This is what jumped out at me in one of my devotions this week from Paul David Tripp. Whoa! That’s a deep thought and certainly put me to thinking! In this devotion he was speaking about grace; both having been given grace and giving grace to others. We can’t begin to give grace to others without the realization of the grace that has been bestowed on us from Christ.

What exactly is grace? The dictionary defines it several ways, but for our purpose I’ve chosen the first entry which says grace is (1) unmerited divine assistance to humans for their regeneration or sanctification and (2) a virtue coming from God. We who are His children have all been recipients of immeasurable grace. John’s gospel says it like this, “From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.” (1:16 CEB) The Believer’s Bible Commentary explains it as abundant grace; God’s gracious favor which He showers on His beloved children.

As Christians we are expected to recycle that grace to those, we come in contact within our daily lives. Truly, to whom much is given (grace), much is required (grace passed on). I would say in the past 18 or so months, I have seen less grace in action. So, I go back to the statement from Paul David Tripp and think how many times I have exhibited all of those responses in one situation or another. I forgot about the grace I’d been so freely given! That statement has made me more determined to do my best to share what I have received in Christ to those I encounter on my life’s journey.

Let us not forget our gift of grace and in today’s terms - let’s re-gift it to others. As it is described in the old hymn, that marvelous, infinite, matchless grace can be passed on only because we have been given it fully and freely.

“We love because God first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) could just as easily be saying we extend grace because God first gave us grace.

When we consider our grace has come at the sacrifice Christ made on the cross, we should be anxious to share it with others!