Anything but OrdinarySample

Do I really need Grace?

Grace is not the quick thank you that we might say before a meal. It is a small word with a profound meaning. It is used to describe unmerited favour. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Grace is Jesus stepping into our world, living a perfect life and then carrying the weight of death that our sin brings to make a way for us to draw near to a perfect God, have friendship with him and join his family. Grace is a display of love that is so amazing and undeserved that it just doesn’t make sense to us. Grace is not about something we do, it is about what Jesus has done!

We live in a world that doesn’t easily understand the concept of Grace. If you come first in class, you get the prize. If you perform well in the marketplace you receive your bonus, and so on. We get noticed and praised when we perform well, and when we achieve more than others, we stand out. Sadly when we mess up, our life is often put on display as an example of how not to live.

The way of the world is always about doing better. And so when Jesus says ‘I love you’, regardless of the type of person we might be, we struggle to understand a love that is not based on performance. Even if we have a theoretical understanding that Jesus loves us all the time, it is hard to truly grasp that because the way we operate in society is so very different.

This verse is a great reminder of the truth that while we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and a miracle of his creation, we are not the miracle. Our true gift is not hidden inside us for us to search deeply within to find. The true miracle, Jesus and his grace, is not from ourselves. Grace comes to us freely from the ‘extra’ in Jesus and not the ordinary in us.

Action point: Take a moment right now to think upon the wonder of God’s grace towards you. Thank Him for demonstrating His radical love on the cross.