God's Grace

Quote of the Day:
"The Christian life is motivated, not by a list of do's and don'ts, but by the gracious outpouring of God's love and blessing."
 by Anne Graham Lotz

Your life as a Christian shouldn't be defined by what you can or cannot do. Don't get me wrong, there are definite boundaries that should be kept and if you live according to the Word (that means by what the BIBLE says, not by what YOU think is okay or what OTHERS think is okay), then you should be fine. But many Christians nowadays walk around flaunting their long list of sacrifices. They take great pride in their outward appearances and forget that what is in their hearts (and what comes out of their mouths) is really what God is looking at. Didn't Jesus reprimand the Pharisees publicly by calling them "hypocrites"? (How embarassing!) If God was standing in front of you right now, at this very moment --  (and I want you to be brutally honest here with yourself, even if you don't like the answer) -- is that what He would call you -- a hypocrite? Ouch!

What we should all be doing as Christians is living our lives focusing on God's grace. What is God's grace? Well, it shouldn't be confused with justice or mercy because it's neither of those things. I once saw Kirk Cameron on TV describe it as a sort of "pardon." If you were a murderer and had been sentenced to death and along came the governor to pardon you, you'd be set free. Even though you didn't deserve it. Even though you did nothing to earn it. (Quite the contrary).

That's exactly what God's grace is like. You don't deserve His love. (No, really, you don't.) You don't deserve His forgiveness. (Again...you really don't -- even if you think you're a good person. If you think this way then you're comparing yourself to God and uh....hello? When was the last time you created a universe out of nothing or parted a sea in half?) And no, you don't even deserve eternal life or salvation -- no matter how good of a person you think you are. But here's the good news -- once you accept Him and turn your life over to Him, in His mercy, He gives you His grace anyway!

The Bible says that because we are all born (and live our lives) in sin, we all deserve death (spiritually). But God, through the death of His son, offers us LIFE instead. Jesus took what we deserved unto Himself by dying on that cross. (What? You thought he went through that gruesome experience for show?) Through Jesus' death, he offered us Grace. A pardon. A get out of jail card. He offered us a gift -- a precious one. That's what we should be focusing on. God's love, God's grace -- that should be the focus of your walk with Christ. Are you sharing that grace, that love,  with others? Or are you so wrapped up in your list of do's and don'ts that you've lost your sense of direction? Let me tell you, if that's all you're doing, then it's only a matter of time before you trip on yourself and fall flat on your face.

Living a Christian life isn't easy. The Bible doesn't say that. Nobody said that. (Not even Jesus.) But accepting God's grace and His love and sharing it with others is. And man, does it feel good.

Remember:
Justice is getting what we deserve.
Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
Grace is getting what we do not deserve.