Walking in Grace
"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." Romans 11:5-6 NIV
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:4-9 NIV
I love the word grace. I love the thought of it. I love the idea of walking in grace. But more often than not I find myself walking in my own ability. I am more prone to depending on only myself then the grace that God gives. I find myself not daily embracing my need for a savior and I let God's grace fall by the wayside. I don't embrace my shortcomings and wait to see God's grace abound. Instead I like to cover them up, so no one else can see, and maybe I can even fool myself in believing they are not there. Maybe they will just go away. Or disappear unnoticed. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me. Always trying hard to get it right and get it right the first time. But the whole time I see Jesus standing there waiting. Waiting patiently right beside me. And in His hands He is holding out a wonderful gift of grace. There the gift sits while I spin trying to carry on without it. What if I just admitted I needed God's grace to get me through each day. What if I declared that today I am not depending on myself but I am depending on God even more.
Paul says in Romans that it isn't based on what I can do anyways. God didn't give out grace so we can boast about ourselves. It is and it will always be about Jesus Christ. Pretending to do it on my own is robbing me and robbing Christ. If I am not willing to rely on God's grace then I am denouncing all that Christ came to do. In Ephesians it says because God is so rich in grace that He freely gives it out. Take it to the bank, my friend. It will not run out. God will have enough to get you through all of it. And in God's special favor, in His grace, He brought salvation not to just His chosen people, but to me and you, a most likely 'Gentile'.
The funny thing is, if you knew the life He pulled me out of. I can honestly say God chased after me when I was far from Him. In my life I kept running away from God but His grace bridged that gap. Oh how I I grabbed a hold of His grace and His favor in my life then. I was so desperate for it. Now that I have been a follower of Christ for years, I pretend that I don't need His grace. How did I get so far away from needing it. We like to grow up and be less dependant. Maybe it's our society that tells us to strive for independance. Or maybe it is just me. But deep down I don't want to be less dependant on His grace. I know, I know better. He is there still with this wonderful gift, standing right beside me. I am picking it out of His hands again. I choose today to walk in it again.
I choose today to embrace my shortcomings. I embrace my falling short because it is than that His grace abounds. I choose today to not pretend to have it all together, because I want other's to see God's grace. I am not going to cover it up. I want people to see how I fall short and God's grace abounds. I choose today to see God's kindness show through in my day. I choose today to pick up the gift of grace and walk in it.
