Faith: Grace

The concept of Grace in the Christian Faith can be hard for people to grasp, but it is also a concept which cannot be easily define - it can only be experienced.

What is Grace?

Grace is a supernatural gift bestowed on us  by God for our salvation.  It is something we can never merit as it is given to us by a loving God - it is a gift.

Ephesians 2 v 8 - 10
"For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good words, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them"

Jesus brought us into life in Christ.  Grace is the eternally active, unlimited, unconditional and unmerited love God has for us.  And this beautiful gift of Grace surrounds us at every moment of our life - in the sadness and in the joy - at all times.  We need to ask the Lord to reveal to us, the state of our hearts - to show us the areas which need to be changed  - we need the narrow walls of our hearts broken down - Grace does this.

Grace is God's relationship with us and our with Him.

God is love and it is his nature to pour out his Grace on us - we, who are made in His image.  God calls each of us by our names - he loves us so much he even knows how many hairs are on our heads!

God sent his only Son to this world to die for us - this is the depth of God's love for us - he sacrificed his only Son to save us from our sins  - for us - his children.  (1 John 3)

God loves us more than anything in the world - we are all precious to him - he is constantly with us and in contact with us.  Sometimes it feels like we are alone and God is not with us and that he is not listening to us as our prayers are maybe not being answered, but what we need to remember is that with God there is no time - he doesn't work by a clock - God's time is now and always, and is timing is perfect - Jesus knows what we need and when we need it.

God sometimes makes us wait as he wants us to rely on him and not on others - he wants our eyes to be firmly fixed on him and his mercies. He understand us and our feelings and that we can get frustrated but we are his children and he wants this best for this and sometimes what is best for us if not what we want - God knows exactly what we need and when - our wants are not always our needs.

Important things to remember are that we are the light of the world.  And when we feel like things are falling apart and we are alone, we need to remember we are not alone as God is always with us - he carries us through our difficult times and through trials it may seem like we will never get through them and we wonder why this is happening to us, but once we are through the trials and on the other side we realise that God and His Grace got us through.

Faith is very important to have during our trials.  I know that if I did not have my faith during trials I would not be able to cope. Don't get me wrong I haven't coped all that well during trials but without God's help I don't think I would have made it to the other side and when I feel God is not with me I need to remember that he is carrying me and when we suffer he suffers with us and also that when He was on the cross He suffered for us.