Today at PWOC's summer bible study we started a study focused on God's grace. It was especially interesting because I don't know how often I actually think about God's grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." So grace is a gift, not something we earned, it is the way we receive salvation, and all of this comes from God! What did I do to deserve this?! The answer is nothing. As humans and especially Americans we have this inert need to earn what we get. That is the American way right? (or at least it used to be...) But with God's grace, nothing we can do will ever begin to earn what He has given us. A woman in our bible study explained it this way:
"You know when you let your child go outside and play and they always end up finding the muddiest messiest place to play. When they come home all dirty they always seem to want a BIG hug from mommy or daddy. As parents it is common to say, wait a minute, hold on, lets get you clean first. God doesn't do that to us. He sees all of our dirt (sin) and He knows all of our mess and He loves us anyway. He gives a giant squeeze and a big fat kiss right where we are dirtiest, and says 'I Love You'."
God gave us the greatest gift of all! Life! Thankfully God's grace doesn't just appear once.
God's grace comes over and over and over again. His grace is seen in the healing of a family member, in the comfort of a friend who has lost a loved one, in the provision for those on hard times. We also see His grace in events that otherwise seem inconsequential. For example:
Yesterday I was out running errands. Just as I was getting ready to get off the Autobahn, I remembered I wanted to check my military mail box. To do so I had to remain on the Autobahn and go a few exits further. So I did. After checking the mail and receiving a fun package (it is always fun to get packages in the mail!) I headed home. Just before getting to my village many of the drivers going in the opposite direction were flashing their lights, (yes, even in Germany this means cops ahead.) so I slowed down. When I got in my village there was a polizei parked perpendicular to the road so that no one could go on, but I could still get to my house. I got inside my house and went to the top floor to see why the road was blocked. All I could see were many flashing blue and red lights ( police and fire) all along the road I would have taken had I gone home without checking the mail. It took 3 hours to clean up whatever accident had occured. Now I am not one to fret about the past, but the thought definitely crossed my mind that if God had not reminded me to check the mail I could have easily been involved in whatever took place. Immediately I thanked and praised God for his provision.
Even though I wasn't aware of it at the time, God was providing His grace and protection to me, even though I did nothing to deserve it.
