Knowing Grace (part 1 of 2)

Oregon by Gillham

What do you know of grace?

We are called “people of grace.” Many of Paul’s biblical letters include, “grace and peace to you.” Believers are expected to exhibit grace, and we often identify a church as “grace-filled.” But each of these presumes we know grace.

For much of my life I thought grace was a theological concept. In my mind, grace was the unmerited favor of God granted to me through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. While this is technically correct, it is dispassionate enough that I missed the point.

Indeed, grace is what Jesus did for us that resulted in us being embraced within the favor of God. But more important: Grace is who Jesus is!

Jesus-the-person-of grace performed grace, then inhabited our hearts and took us into His heart, so we could become people of grace. As a result, we are engulfed within the favor of grace, exhibit grace through every pore of life, and have as our highest priority knowing Him who is grace. As grace-filled people we are in Christ who is the heart of God.

Simply: Jesus is the personification of God’s heart.

Jesus Christ demonstrated His Father’s heart toward us. While we were hopeless rebels against God’s reign in our lives, Jesus gave His life on our behalf so we might be included in the family of grace (ref. Rm. 5:8).