Eternal RealitiesSample

God Looks at You Through Eyes of Grace

The Bible says in John 1:17, “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (NCV). Why through Jesus Christ? Why is Jesus Christ the only way to Heaven? Why not Buddha? Why not somebody else?

Jesus Christ is the only way for you to get into Heaven because he paid the price of admission. On the cross, he paid for your sins.

Grace is free, no doubt about that. But it is not cheap. It cost Jesus Christ his life.

The law tells me when I do wrong. It says, “You blew it!” But Grace says, “You’re forgiven. Here’s how to get back on track. Let’s get going in the right direction.”

In the Bible, the favorite description for someone who’s accepted God’s grace is the term “in Christ.” That phrase is used more than 120 times in the New Testament. It refers to somebody who has found salvation through the grace of God.

Imagine a notecard that represents my life and a Bible that represents Jesus Christ. In my life, there are a lot of things I’ve done wrong that disqualify me to live in a perfect place like Heaven. There are sins I’ve committed, thoughts and actions that have been hurtful to my relationships. There are things that I’m really ashamed of, things that have left me broken and scarred. When you look at my life — that dirty, torn, ugly notecard — it’s easy to think, “There’s no chance of this getting into Heaven. It’s nowhere close to perfect."

But Jesus Christ takes my life with all its scars, guilt, and shame. When I accept God’s free gift of grace and salvation, I am in Christ.

When I’m in Christ, can you see my imperfections? When you put the notecard in the Bible, can you see how messed up it is? All you see is the Bible. And all you can see when I’m in Christ is Christ. When God looks at me with eyes of grace, he only sees the perfection of Jesus Christ.

“Don’t treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die” (Galatians 2:21 NLT).

If you could have made it to Heaven without any help from God, Jesus wouldn’t have come and died on the cross for you. But there was no other way. You’re either going to get into Heaven in Christ or you’re not going.

Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. It’s a free gift. Just accept it in faith!

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