By His Grace
by Judy Sauer
11/28/2006 / Devotionals



Grace … it is such a soothing word that elicits varying emotions and feelings. I find grace to be an unbelievable gift from God. At the same time I find that the gift of grace is overwhelming: a mix of joy, relief, and real acceptance. The mere sound of the word grace from my lips reminds me that I am not worthy of such a priceless gift from Christ.

Yet in Ephesians 2:8-9 it clearly indicates the source and strength of grace freely given to us. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God – not by our works, so that no one can boast.

As I think of the word grace it also appears to be an acronym. Several meanings come to mind:

WOW! What an awesome reality – Christ, through his Father’s divinity, redeems us of all our sins. We are accepted wholly – that means flaws and all. No blemish is too big, no mistake too grave.

By his grace we have been saved.
By his grace we are his children.

Even if a mother forgets her child, God will not abandon us. (Isaiah 49:15). And he proves this unfailing love by his actions.

When reading Isaiah 49:16 “I have carved you in the palm of my hand” for years I had envisioned my name was literally engraved into the palm of Christ’s hand. Yet over time that visual evolved into a much deeper, richer, and realistic image that takes my breath away.

Where I once saw my name etched into his palm has since been replaced with the graphic hole of the enormous marks of a nail. The nail symbolizes how far Christ has gone to prove his love – to demonstrate the depths of sacrifice and acceptance for me and you.

By his grace we have been saved.
By his grace we are children of God.
By his grace we can continue on the path of life.

Even if the day is filled with turmoil, pain, suffering, or rejection, there is one who will never leave our side … God. He is our forever friend; our constant companion. How blessed are we to have this magnificent gift regardless of how unworthy we may feel. There is nothing we can do to make God not love us. He freely gives his love, acceptance, and forgiveness. All we must do is open our hearts and minds to the gracious gift of his grace.

Discernment questions:
1. When you hear the word grace, what visual scenarios run through your mind?

2. How do you feel knowing nothing you do can turn God away from loving you with his grace-filled heart?

3. If you were to write a thank you letter to Christ for this blessed gift of grace, what would you say?

Feel free to share your responses to the above discernment questions with me by email at jmsauer@sbcglobal.net

May you have a blessed day!

Copyright 2006 Judith M. Sauer

For more than 20 years, I have been writing inspirational, faith-based articles. As a writer and speaker, my faith stories and triumphs over adversity foster an emotional connection with audiences.

Email: jmsauer@sbcglobal.net

Blog: http://jmsauer.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com