GRACE

Luke 23:41 "And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."42 And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" 43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Grace, I’ve heard it defined “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense” but I think there is so much more to it. It is a sovereign God hanging on a cross in pain and torture and torment extending forgiveness to the criminal beside him who has nothing at all to offer in exchange, he is about to die, he can’t even tell one person about God’s grace and yet it is extended to him anyways. In reality, it is the same with us. Ephesians 2: 1 “ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, “ . We are not promised another day or even another hour and yet at any time in this life that we call out to Jesus from our state of being spiritually dead and say “Forgive me” He does so even in spite of all our future failures that He can see down through the ages. His graces picks us up when we stumble and when we repent it dusts us off and restores us to that right relationship with Him.

Shouldn’t we also extend mercy and grace to those around us, and even more important, shouldn’t we proclaim God’s grace and mercy with every fiber of our being, in word and deed and thought? I would say that in light of the fact that Christ willingly chose to endure the cross for our sake and even asked the Father to forgive those who tortured Him, that grace is born out of great love that is lavished upon those who are so undeserving, and that is each and every one of us. It has been poured out on us freely, richly, extravagantly.

Matthew 10:6a “Freely you received, freely give.” What have you done with God’s grace?

by Cherry's Creations


Comments (5)

On April 25, 2011 at 10:33 AM , Amy said...

This is one I've been working on lately. A great post for Easter!

 
On April 25, 2011 at 1:28 PM , MYSAVIOR said...

God always confirms for me. My mother, age 87, non-believer, is very difficult to deal with and I have had to extend God's Grace to her in trying to keep my relationship with her on an even keel. It saddens me that she does not believe.
Thank you, Cherry.
♥♥♥
Sue

 
On April 25, 2011 at 2:10 PM , Sherri Ward said...

I'm so thankful for God's grace, only found in Jesus, and thank you for sharing and encouraging others in His grace!

 
On April 25, 2011 at 5:46 PM , sammysgrammy said...

Is there anything more wonderful?

 
On April 26, 2011 at 7:29 AM , watercolors said...

Great truths.