A Graceful Life
By Vivian Bricker
“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 2:8-9
From the moment we come to know Jesus, we are blessed. We are blessed because we now know the Savior of our souls, our Redeemer, and our greatest Friend. Although we are now just coming to know Him, He has loved us since before the beginning of time. When we were actively living in sin, He loved us (Romans 5:8). The love of Jesus is what enables us to live graceful lives.
While we ourselves might be lacking in extending grace in our lives, we know we never have to worry about this with the Lord. He is always extending grace to us in His actions. Even though we do not deserve His love and grace, Jesus still chooses to do this. Love is at the Lord’s core and there is nothing we can do to change this (Romans 8:37-39).
From a biblical sense, grace is undeserved favor or unmerited favor. We did nothing to warrant Jesus’ love or favor. Rather, He simply chose to love us and He continues to do so every day. The grace He extends to us will endure throughout all time and this is shown to us in how Gentiles are now part of the family of God. At one point only Israel was the family of God; however through Jesus’ grace all people can join the family of God.
This is all because of God’s grace and His love. With this knowledge, we can live graceful lives. Rather than being fearful, doubtful, or even prideful, we can live lives of grace and love. God has given us grace, which is something we don't deserve. By all practical means, God could have eradicated the human race thousands of years ago because of our sin, but He didn't. Instead, He has chosen to give us chance after chance to come to Him.
The love of God is abounding and this is why He has not destroyed us. God’s love is what leads Him to give us grace because it is not by anything that we did. We cannot earn God’s grace just as we cannot earn our own salvation. If one was to say we could earn God’s grace, it would be implying that we somehow could win God’s favor and this is not true. We already have God’s favor because of who He is, not because of anything we have done or haven't done.
This is in line with our Bible passage of the day. The Apostle Paul tells us, “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 2:8-9). Similar to as I was saying before, grace and salvation were given to us by God. It is by God’s grace that we have been saved and this is through faith. As soon as we place faith in Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, we are given salvation.
Grace overpowers our life and salvation becomes our new reality. As Paul goes on to tell us, this grace and salvation is not from ourselves. Rather, it is the gift of God. God’s grace and salvation are both gifts. We do not earn these things by our works in order that no one can boast. If God chose people based on their work, then it would give individuals a chance to boast about “how they earned salvation” or “earned God’s favor.”
Neither of these things are biblical. Instead, they are rooted in pride. Salvation is a free gift given to us by the Lord Himself. We did not work towards this gift nor did we earn it. In the same way, grace was extended to us by Jesus out of His great love. When we look at these truths, we know we can step out into the day with a grateful heart. We have been given a graceful life and this is all because of the Lord.
May we all praise Him today and go to Him in prayer.
“Dear Jesus, I praise You for blessing me with a graceful life. Through Your love and grace, I have received salvation. None of this is due to my own work or efforts. Instead, it is done completely by You. Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful gift of salvation and Your grace. Amen.”
Intersecting Faith & Life:
- Are you currently living a graceful life? If not, how can you change this?
- We cannot warrant God’s favor. Have you tried to do this in the past? If you have, how can you give up this practice?
- Salvation is given freely by grace through faith. Have you accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation yet? If not, do you think you might want to accept Him as your Savior today?
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Tinnakorn Jorruang
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