Do you want God to give you what you deserve? Most people, if thinking long, hard, and honestly about that question, would answer, “Please no!” We all fall well short of perfect goodness. With the life and blessing God has already given us, we certainly have not earned endless blessing. We have not earned eternal life.
But the good news of the Bible is that God acts toward us with grace. “Grace” is unmerited beneficence. With grace God bestows upon us far more than what we deserve.
With grace God bestows upon us far more than what we deserve. Click To TweetThe ultimate act of God’s grace is Jesus Christ, who comes to us in mercy and compassion, even though we have strayed far from God. Through Christ God forgives us, although we have great guilt; and through Christ God offers us everlasting life in God’s eternal blessing, although we in no way “deserve” it. God reaches to us with amazing grace.
We are invited to receive that grace! When we open ourselves in faith to God’s grace, we are drawn into life-giving fellowship with God; and empowered by God’s Spirit, we can show the same kind of grace to others.
The world will be a grim place if we live only by what each of us deserves; but life is transformed when we receive – and share – the grace that comes to us in Jesus Christ.
Sunday’s Scripture Readings:
Matthew 20:1–15
Ephesians 2:4–8
