A Life of Grace

Do you know what grace is?

Grace is a word that has become so common in many circles that people take it for granted. Many have made it such a part of their Christian vocabulary that they seldom stop to think about how awesome grace really is and what a difference it has made in their lives.

The theologians define it as the unmerited favor of God. But really, it is a free gift. An undeserved handout. God chose to give you light so you can get out of the dark. He chose to cure your blindness and give you sight. He GAVE you LIFE. Eternal life, fulfilling life close to him. That is grace.

Grace is powerful and life-altering. It brings purpose and meaning.

Grace is… God chose you. God drew YOU to him. John 6:43 says: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Think about that. God loves you so much that He drew you to Him knowing that, on your own, your couldn’t come. You wouldn’t come. So he extended His grace to bring you into his family. He exhibited His grace by sending His son to die on the cross that you deserved, in your place.

The Bible tells us in John 1:1 that Jesus was the Word and with Word was with God before the beginning and the Word was God. That’s the pre-existent Jesus Christ.

Ever since man rebelled and fell into sin and darkness God has been there, a light shining in the darkness that came to earth and became a man so we would find the way, the truth and the life. That’s the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Let me challenge you to look at your life.

What is it like? Jesus wants it to be eternal. That is the glorious security we have. Once saved, forever saved. Jesus wants to give you a present life that is full and abundant. That is why He came. That’s why grace has been extended to you.

What does it mean to have a full and abundant life?

Think of the 23rd Psalm, perhaps the most quoted and comforting part of the whole Bible. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.” We all know those verses.

But here is something many people DO NOT know. Sheep will not eat and drink when they are laying down. It is a fact and it gives very special meaning to the phrase “he make me to lie down in green pastures.”

You see if a sheep is laying down, even in the greenest pastures and even with the most tender grass within an inch of its muzzle, the sheep will not eat the grass.

Instead, if it is hungry, it has to scramble up to its feet, bend over and then eat what was much easier to reach before.

Thus, when the psalm tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ, our shepherd, makes us to lie down in green pastures, it means that HE is able to satisfy us so completely that we cannot possible yearn for anything more.

That is the joy of a full and abundant life in Christ. For He is the bread of life that satisfies all our hunger, the water of life that quenches our deepest thirst.

See how amazing grace really is? That’s why that song is so powerful. It changes us, Makes us new.

WOuld you like to know that grace? You can. The Bible is clear on how. Just come to Christ. Ask Him to forgive your sins. Tell Him you are a sinner and you want his forgiveness. That you are sorry you sinned because it is a crime against Him. Tell Him you want Him to take control of your life. If you sincerely pray such a prayer, in your own words, you WILL experience His grace.

And once you do, your life will never be the same again.

Amazing, huh?

Mike Fletcher
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/a-life-of-grace-119574.html