Christlike Challenge: Grace

As Christians, we know that it was by God's grace that we have been saved through Jesus Christ. Grace is the undeserved favor that comes from God. It is a gift that we can never earn nor demand from God but He freely gives it to us.

God's grace, however, does not give us the license to go on sinning but as the Bible says it teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and the sinful nature.

It is by His grace that we can live a victorious, fruitful, and righteous life for God. It is by His grace that we are changed and become new creations in Jesus. We are freed from the bondage of sin and are no longer condemned.

Now, think about God's amazing grace and how much He has freely given it to us so that we can live a full and meaningful life. His grace abounds us each day that we live for Him.

If you can make a list of everything that God has blessed you with and has been gracious to you about, then think about how good, merciful, and faithful God has been to you.

You have finally found the satisfaction that your soul has been searching for all this time through Jesus and remember that it is by God's grace that all these things have been given to you.

With all this in mind, I would like to give you a challenge. Remember that grace is the favor or any good thing that we give or do for someone who does not deserve it.

If you can think of anyone who has wronged you or hurt you so bad that it left a deep wound of grief in your heart, let us go to those people, give them a cheerful smile and a warm tight hug, then tell them you have forgiven them with all your heart.

But wait, let us go one step further and give them a special gift, something that you know would make them feel better or give them joy, maybe even something with sentimental value of yours.

Now, doesn't that feel wonderful and doesn't it give you so much joy to be gracious to others the way God has been gracious to us?

That one small step of faith that God would make everything all right especially when we have been deeply hurt by others is a manifestation of God's love in our lives and how much He has changed us and renewed us from who we were before.

When we think about it, we don't deserve many things in our lives - we certainly did not deserve to be forgiven and have eternal life through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

But God, full of love and grace, has shown us that no matter how much we have hurt Him, He is willing to forgive us with open arms and with much more blessings in store for us. He has shown us His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, so why don't we share that with others?