Amazed by Grace

When you’ve been a Christian most of your life, you learn to live with grace. By living with it, I mean you appreciate it, you acknowledge that you need it once in a while and you count on it when you’ve messed up, but you aren’t impressed with it. After your initial contact with Jesus, graces loses its juice, its shine fades away.

If you are like me, you actually begin to believe that God is getting a good deal with you. You are a good person. You have a good job. You lead a good life. You raise a good family. You attend a good church. You give a good amount of your time and money. You are a low maintenance Christian. Grace is one dimensional, like Jesus on the flannel graphs in Sunday School.

Jesus said it best when he said “He who has been forgiven of much, loves much. But he who has been forgiven of little loves little” Most of us who have been forgiven of much, live like we’ve been forgiven of little…so we love little…we appreciate little…we are amazed by little.

That all changed for me in October of 2005…grace went from assumed to amazing…and I’ll never be the same.

What I find so amazing about grace is that God not only gives it when I need it the most, He gives it when I deserve it the least. I can’t do anything to earn it. I can impress him enough with my good deeds or my Bible knowledge to get more of it. Grace is offered and poured out over me when I desperately need it and when I least deserve it.

There was a time that I thought I’d never be forgiven…grace. There was a time I thought my marriage was over…grace. There was a time I thought my kids would hate me and resent me…grace. There was a time that I thought I’d never be used by God again…grace. There was a time I thought my ministry life was over…grace.

That is where I am today…amazed by grace. I’m amazed by God’s faithfulness when I’m not faithful. I’m amazed by God’s love when I’m not lovable. I’m amazed by God’s goodness when I’m not good.

Grace…unmerited favor…it is amazing.