Grace. We hear a great deal about living under Grace rather than under the Law in Christian churches. The Apostle Paul makes a wonderful case for Grace in his epistles, especially in Romans, and I am convinced that Paul is right.
Grace is not a thing of works. Grace is unmerited favor. There is nothing we can do to earn, purchase, or invoke God's Grace. We are the passive recipient of God's Grace.
But what of Faith? Isn't our Faith necessary to receive God's Grace?
No, Grace is unmerited and anything you do that entitles, qualifies, or is a prerequisite of Grace makes Grace a thing of merit. It belongs to God as Sovereign. He acts as the unmoved mover. His Grace is dispensed at His discretion and without our participation.
We have turned the Love of God, expressed as Grace, into a business transaction, an exchange of one thing of value for another. That is not Grace.
God does not require our Faith in order to extend His Grace. If He did we would have all received the wages of sin: Death. Yet, here we live and breathe on the Breath of God's Grace. Praise God for His Mercy. Praise God for His Grace.
Do you remember the mustard seed that Jesus spoke about? If we had as much faith as a mustard seed...
He said to them, "Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
-Matthew 17:20
How much Faith can a mustard seed muster? Does it possess the ability to express an abstract thing like Faith?
Nope, it sure doesn't. It has only the promise of new life. This promise of new life is not of its own making, but a promise bestowed by its Creator. We have also been endowed with a Promise of New Life by our Creator, and that is the reason for our Faith. Our Faith is not the reason for God's Grace or the Promise of New Life.
Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, does He hold us to a higher standard than Himself? How could He? The servant is not greater than the Master. The servant can only seek to be like the Master. Remember what Jesus said,
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
-Matthew: 5:43-48
This is the Nature of our God and it should be our nature as well because we are the seed.
We will all go up together.
Not a single seed will be lost...
How is your Faith now?
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