God’s Grace
March 09|The Meaning of the Cross Series
March 09|The Meaning of the Cross Series
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Ephesians 1.7-8a).
Whenever we begin to question the character of God, we only need to think back to God sending his Son as the price to redeem us. God didn’t just give us a small amount of grace, but “lavished” it on us. One definition of lavish is: expending or bestowing profusely. Grace demonstrates the wildly generous aspect of God’s character.
Grace provides us with something we didn’t earn and don’t deserve. Take a moment and say it out loud: “I didn’t earn it and I don’t deserve it.” Let it sink in. Only through “the riches of God’s grace” is redemption available to those who call on the name of Jesus. If we feel we have earned it or we deserve it, it isn’t grace.
We learn two things about God in John 3.16: he loves and he gives. The self-giving nature of God is evident. We see he gave because he loved. God doesn’t love me because I am good, he loves me because he is good. It is who he is. To understand and appreciate grace, we must realize we bring nothing and Jesus brings everything.
No matter where we are in our journey with Jesus, we must constantly remind ourselves of God’s grace. As you spend time in the Chair today, write a prayer of thanksgiving, recognizing who you were and who you are now because God loves, gives, and redeems.