Grace Flows Down

Grace. We in the church most often think of it in regard to our sin, “By His grace, God has forgiven me in Christ of my sins.” What a beautiful, wonderful reality. We have been saved by grace through faith (Eph 2). Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Rom 5). We are not under the Law but under grace (Rom 6). These precious truths anchor sin-prone souls when we fall short and need the reminder again that God has made our crimson sins white as snow (Is. 1). The grace of God is love in the aftermath of sin.

And yet, this is not all that God’s grace is. It is not forgiveness for our sin alone. It is mercy and compassion in our heartache. It is what comes from God to a humble heart. It is strength to keep going amidst a life of chronic difficulty. It is peace in the middle of tragedy. It is not just grace for past sins, but present grace for today’s challenges. The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil (1Jn 3). The grace of God is faith in the middle of the floor falling out from under our feet (1Thess 5).

And yet, this is not all that God’s grace is. It is not forgiveness for our sin alone and help in the present. The grace of God is also a promise of what is to come. Freedom from the sin that clings so closely. Relief from the effects of sin that break our hearts and wound and weary our souls. The grace of God is a promise that He will wipe away our tears. A promise that death and crying will be no more. The certainty that one day we won’t have need for the sun because the Lamb will be our light. The grace of God is hope for the day of experiencing His love in full as our faith is made sight. 

And this grace in the past, grace in the present, and grace in the future are just that, grace. They can’t be earned. No amount of right-doing will merit it. No amount of avoiding wrong-doing will earn it. The grace of God comes out of the merciful heart of God to the people of God because of the love of God. For it to be anything else in any other way means it is no longer grace. This is what Paul means in Galatians when he says that he will not “nullify the grace of God.”

And grace is what we all want if we slow down enough to listen to our lives. We all want the tendrils of anger, lust, envy, ego, fear of man, gone from our lives. But we don’t just want our sinful choices to be gone. We long for love, joy, peace, acceptance, assurance, quiet minds, and provision. The absence of sin and the presence of goodness are both grace. But often in our wanting we turn to striving instead of to receiving. 

What could it mean for you and for me if we returned over and over, moment by moment, breath by breath, to the gracious heart of God and received what He is offering. What kind of people would we become if we had the courage to admit all of our sins, all of our pains, all of our longings and receive His help? Surely we would be the kind of people who experience the grace of God because He has said that He gives grace and help in our time of need. Your life is covered by His grace. In the blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of Christ we see His sacred and gracious heart on display.

Your sin - covered

Your struggle - covered

Your future - covered

There is grace for you. Hallelujah.

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