Grace

The room was tense as we sat around folding tables in a small room at our church. One person had said something to hurt another person. We were there to make things right—to seek and grant forgiveness. Those are hard meetings, and on this day, forgiveness never came. The exchange was sharp; the emotions were high. After much discussion, prayer, and reading Scripture, one person got up and stormed out of the room. He never set foot in our church again.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Satan says. “And it’s the right time to do it.” God’s timing, his destination, and the way to get to the destination are always perfect, but Satan wants us to work in his time frame, follow his path, and get to his desired destination. His way always involves a shortcut from the road of obedience. That was the essence of the third temptation in the desert.

God’s grace is amazing! He gives us what we don’t deserve. He offers the free gift of grace without conditions or strings attached. And it all started with his grace in the garden.

“You are not worthy.” “You failed again.” “How could God ever love you?” “How could God ever use you?” “You might as well give up. You will never be anything but a second-rate Christian—if you are a Christian at all….” Where do those voices come from?

Life is short. Everyone dies. Eternity is long. God offers the free gift of life. Why do people choose not to believe in the gospel? Why do some see the message of Jesus as unattractive? Why do others communicate that this free gift is actually not free at all, but one must work to attain it? The answer to all these questions is Satan. Here is what he does.

Many believers are stuck in the past. Past disappointments. Past failures. A past demeaning comment. They have defined themselves by the past. What happened years ago is still influencing who they are today. But the cycle can be and must be broken. Our significance is not, nor has it ever been, in who we were or who we are. It is God alone who gives us significance.

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” That’s what C. S. Lewis wrote in his compelling book, Mere Christianity. Forgiveness is a great concept until we must put it into practice. Do you have someone you need to forgive?

When I was growing up, there was a plaque hanging on a wall in our house that read, “Don’t worry. It may never happen.” I passed that saying many times each day, and those words became branded on my brain. So, of course, I never worry. (I wish!)

Becoming a Christian is a free gift of grace. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We were dead in our sins, and God breathed spiritual life into us. Salvation is of the Lord. But growing as a believer involves the power of the Holy Spirit in us and our personal commitment, desire, and ongoing discipline to grow.