GOD’S GRACE RESTORES

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”—Ephesians 2:8

 

The transforming power of God’s grace is the heart of our Christian faith and the heart of our relationship with God.  Grace is the means by which God brings himself to us and restores us.  Grace is best defined as: God giving me what I need, not what I deserve.  I deserve to be punished for my sins, but in grace, God offers me forgiveness.  Through forgiveness, I am able to experience blessings upon blessing.  Grace is a fit that we accept in faith, and that is totally undeserved.  We tend to offer people conditional love; I love you, if.  But Jesus Christ offers each of us unconditional love: I love you, period!  And, when we are the recipients of such an awesome gift, our hearts are transformed and the desire of our hearts becomes helping others understand this amazing grace.  Dr. T. L. Osborn related that his older brother was transformed by the power of grace at his conversion to Christ.  Before being transformed his brother was mean and treated people badly, afterward he spoke kindly to people and treated them nicely.  Dr. T. L. wanted to experience the new birth because it made such a radically change in his brother.  Grace transforms people.

 

The apostle Paul is another example of the Lord’s power to transform an unrighteous man into an image-bearer of Jesus.

 

God changed a sinner into Christian. Paul was deeply religious before his conversion, but he relied on good works and a pious nature to gain divine acceptance.  When he met the Lord on the road to Damascus, the future apostle learned that all of his religious zeal meant nothing.  The only way for people to be acceptable before God is to receive the saving grace of Christ—He replaces our sin nature with a righteous spirit.  And even though Christians will sometimes falter and make mistakes, our heavenly Father remains patient and loving toward His children.  He uses our failures to teach us more about Himself and His ways.

God changed a servant of sin into a servant of the Lord. Paul was welcomed into the kingdom in spite of his hostility toward the church.  He had promoted blasphemy, punished believers, and cast his vote against those being put to death (Acts 26:10-11).  The lesson here is that nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).

 

The Father shapes and chisels His children until they mirror His Son.  He turned one of the early church’s enemies into a wise and repentant leader. Commit to obey the Lord, and see what He will do in your life.  He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

 

I have made many mistakes in my life, and in repentance I have seen that God’s grace is always willing to receive me back in love and mercy.  We all need God.  The Apostle Paul wrote that, “The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the good news about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV).  Sharing the transforming grace of God with others is a sacred responsibility.  When we experience the transforming grace of God and His miraculous intervention, we should be filled with the desire to share that same wonderful reality with others.

 

Prayer—Father I thank You for Your miraculous transforming power of grace at work in my life.  I thank You that I will complete the work that You have given me to do, to share the good news of Your grace with others, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.