“But by the
grace of God I am what I am: and his
grace which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain;
but I labour
more abundantly than they all:
yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me”
(1 Corinthian
15:10)
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Grace in most Christian
literature is defined as “unmerited favour” and “fullness of God in the life of
a believer” (Reagan, 2015). However, I shall be taking us to a related, yet,
another perspective of GRACE which is; “GRACE IS ABILITY TO HOLD ON” – sort
of endurance, right? Yes! In addition, by God’s grace, I have seen Grace as an
acronym, meaning: ‘Gift Received and Comfort Earned’. Hope this makes sense to
you. The lines below delineate on these dimensions of Grace; in the light of
these scriptures - 1 Corinthians 15:10, Roman 6:4, Joshua 1:7, Luke 1:28
GRACE
IS HOLDING ON
Paul said in (1
Corinthians 15:10), “But by the Grace of God I am what I am” This is a declaration,
this servant of God made, which is a product of God’s grace upon him and his ministry.
He was able to say this not because, he worked in a different region away from
others, but because, he was “consistent (enduring) and making progress in the
good work he is doing”
The ability of a
believer to ‘hold-on’ the Christian (even in these difficult times) faith is
due to the grace of God in such a believer’s life. And it is this grace that
keeps him/her enduring till the coming of our Lord and Redeemer.
Grace is what made Saint
Paul to endure, irrespective of the fact that he has been facing series of
persecutions. Grace of God would keep you on, on and on, seek grace all the
time of your living in order to keep you on in the race.
GIFT
RECEIVED AND COMFORT EARNED (GRACE)
Saint Paul again,
buttresses the fact that, it is by heaven’s grace that we (believers) are able
to be raised with Christ from the death; to newness of life in Christ Jesus
(Romans 6:4). Man receives grace to live and not die (Deuteronomy 33:6), from
Him that God sent to redeem man (John 3:17). Therefore, the gift of life from
God is borne by His unreserved grace upon mankind; and man receives it by
accepting Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour; thus earning same and
becomes comforted in the end. For Christ alone is the way to: the life
to man and the truth that man needs to escape the wrath of God (John 14:6).
It is after the
admitting and accepting of Christ into one’s life and living, that is when the
aspect of Comfort Earned comes in. There is an inherent desire in man to live
and not die. Which is why, everyone is afraid to die, even though the death may
be honorable (but I do not think there is anything in death that is honorable
for man was not created to die, yet, he did, due to sin. So also, he may live
if he accepts the One that brings and gives life – Christ Jesus).
NOTE
THIS: We do not
need to come to God because we are afraid to die, rather we are to come to Him
because, that is the default design of
every man. Comfort Earned is an appendage to the glory we receive from God for
enduring to stay right in Him by His Grace.
CONCLUSION
Grace of God is not to
be seen in a Calvinistic perspective (that God have destined already a few to
benefit from His grace of life), rather God’s grace is potentially available
for any fellow who will accept the Lordship of CHRIST in sincerity. Like Jackson stated in his article ‘The True
Meaning of Grace’ and I quote “grace is a soul-thrilling concept; it must be
deeply appreciate, but never manipulated or distorted” That is, you cannot
dilute God’s grace, if you do, then it is not His.
PRAYER
FOCUS
Sweet Jesus, I thank
you for coming across this aspect of your grace. Dear Lord, supply me with all aspects
of divine grace to make me desiring you more and more and holding-on till You come
back again; Amen!!!
MISCELLANEOUS
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