G is for Grace

Is there a sweeter word in the universe?  Grace.  So full of richness when understood from a Biblical perspective that it boggles the mind.  Some have tried to help us grasp the concept with a  little acronym:  God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  And while that certainly covers a lot of it, it still falls short.

Grace isn't just getting the glorious riches of God's mercy and love, purchased at the high cost of Christ's sacrifice.  For grace to be fully appreciated, you have to also see the horrid backdrop of sin.  Many people would read of God giving us His grace, and even the price paid in Christ, and still think: well, of course God would do that, I'm so loveable, so worthy, so...whatever. 

The truth is, grace is a gift that comes in spite of us.  Our best attempts and doing anything worthy of God's favor are like soiled diapers.  A bit of a paraphrase of Isaiah 64:6 but an accurate reflection of what he was saying.  We are filthy, rebellious law breakers, deserving of the full outpouring of God's wrath.  But...grace.  God poured out that wrath on His Son in our place, and treats us as if we were the very perfect Son of God ourselves.  Paul sums it up in 2 Corinthians 5:22 saying, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 

Filthy sinners treated as sons.  The gift of grace. And grace means everything.   "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)   "And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." (John 1:16)

One of the best summaries, in my mind, comes from an old Newsboys song called "Read Good Thing."  The chorus simply says:

When we don’t get what we deserve that's a real good thing
When we get what we don’t deserve That’s a real good thing 

That's grace.  And the verses of that song do a great job of describing this wonderful truth as well.  So I'll leave you with those words and and the song itself.  Enjoy.  

Born to sin  And then get caught
All our good deeds  Don’t mean squat
Sell the Volvo  Shred the Visa
Send the cash to Ma Theresa 
Great idea The only catch is   
You don’t get saved On merit badges
           - Chorus -
Doctor's coming  Looking grim
"Do you have a favorite hymn?"
Check your balance through the years
All accounts are in arrears
Guilt is bitter Grace is sweet
Park it here  On the mercy seat