Grace Filled

 

Grace – the free and unmerited favor from God.  I certainly need grace!  Mercy and grace are two words I have heard throughout my Christian life.  Today’s focus on grace points to my life as a sinner.  When I look at the ten commandments and look at my life this past week, I could give myself a ‘thumbs up’.  I didn’t covet my neighbor, didn’t kill, didn’t commit adultery, etc.  Yet, my life certainly had sin in it.  Not just one sin, but a multitude of sins throughout the days.  Our sinful nature, no matter how hard we may try to ‘be good’, is part of who we are.  We may want to pin all of this on Adam and Eve, yet the result is that we are sinful beings.  The result of sin is death – pure and simple. 

Unless . . . .   Unless you believe our Lord and Savior died for our sins and that by believing this in your heart & soul, you will be saved!  When Jesus died on the cross, our sins were wiped away.  Not just the little ones, but the big ones; the conscious sins and the unconscious sins.  The only way we can find salvation is through the belief that Jesus died so we have eternal life.

As our verse for today shares, grace is tied directly to our sin.  Grace is unwarranted by us and undeserved by us.  There is nothing we can do to receive grace other than to believe in Jesus.  What I love about the definition in the beginning of this post is that grace is FREE!  It costs us nothing other than believing.  You cannot pay your way for grace.  You cannot work ‘really hard’ for grace.  You cannot give up worldly possessions for grace.  It is free through believing in Jesus.  I know that rings music to my ears and fills my soul for there is nothing that I can do or give that can provide salvation, other than Jesus.

Today is Reformation Sunday.  It is the day we remember when Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses which, in part, stated that the church shouldn’t require monetary payment to absolve one from sins.  Luther focused on faith in Jesus and grace from God.  Being a lifelong Lutheran, this has always been how I viewed my faith.  This philosophy, that it is through grace, solely grace, that I am saved has brought me comfort throughout my years.    Today’s verse emphasizes that.

The truest and most important belief for all of us is to know that Jesus is our savior.  Our sins are great, my friends.  Reflecting on that can bring heaviness to our hearts.  Let your heart rejoice!  Our faith is centered around the wonderful grace our Lord has given to us. 

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace.  Without the grace you have given to us, we would be lost in despair.  Having faith in our salvation through Jesus, your grace falls gently to us.  We are eternally grateful.  Amen!