“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.” (Romans 6:20-22 NLT)
Grace is the free, unmerited favor of God afforded those who love God and are called to fulfill His eternal purposes. Paul explains earlier in chapter 6:14: “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” As David Wells explains: “Without the holiness of God, sin has no meaning and grace has no point.”
Holiness, purity, God’s set apart purposes for us that can’t be accomplished without the Spirit’s empowerment are the context of grace. We can’t accomplish the plans of God for our life without the grace of God sustaining, strengthening, and enabling us to walk in constant dependence upon the Lord. God’s grace opens our eyes to our need of Him, then seeks to keep them open in our ever-growing need of Him as we make our way along the paths of obedience to His holy directives.
If you think about it, grace would have no place if it weren’t for the Lord. Grace took on a whole new dimension of meaning and significance once Jesus entered the picture, sacrificed His life, and opened the door of opportunity for us to know Him and have eternal hope in and through Him. Grace sustains us, motivates us, enables us to find strength, guidance and giftedness to continue our journey with purpose.
Each day when we open our eyes and see the light of a new day, if we’re in tune with the Spirit, we’ll breathe a “Thank You, Lord!” for the grace of a new day. God’s gifts to His children, while broad in scope, also have very limited and personal application. Yes, of course, the gift of a new day is offered to everyone, but not everyone will be tuned to recognize Who the Author of that new day is.
The gift of recognition is a grace-gift preserved for those who are looking for and expecting the Lord to show up and present Himself in bold and apparent ways. Too often even His children fail to see Him as He seeks to make Himself known in unfamiliar territory. Accidents, illnesses, tragedies, losses, and other circumstances that tend to cloud His presence can prevent us from sensing and knowing the Lord is with us, but grace, like the opening of the blinds on a sunny day, can allow the floodlight of the Lord’s comforting, healing presence to shine upon us, strengthening, informing, and assuring us in ways that no human voice can.
Grace is the overflow of the holiness of our loving Father who, while unseen by the human eye, can easily be detected by the eye of one’s heart who is tuned to His Spirit’s still, small voice. The point of grace is to reveal God’s holiness and to give His children confidence that there’s never a single second of our day that we’re beyond His care.
May you sense the Lord’s unfailing grace in every circumstance of your life as you grow in holiness and intimacy with your Savior.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 