What Is Grace?

Okay, so I chose my blog name, "Grace Like Rain," because I feel that God's grace, like rain, truly falls down on me all the time!

So what is grace? Grace is the free and unmerited favor or beneficence of God. In other words, grace is receiving something good that you don't deserve (Mercy on the other hand is not receiving something bad that you do deserve – mercy & grace go hand in hand).

So I was thinking about the concept of grace and I came across a passage in Ephesians – (Eph. 2:1-9). It says:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ok, so paraphrase: I was once “dead” from my transgressions when I was following the ways of the world – and some people are still “working for the world.” All of us have worked for the world at some time or another when we were succumbing to our sinful urges. BUT (here’s a big but), God (who is so forgiving and loves us so much) made us alive again! In fact, He brought us on His team to show the incomparable riches of His grace (that’s right – incomparable!!!) He sacrificed Jesus for us! It is by His grace that we’ve become alive again through our faith!

AND God’s grace is sufficient – there’s no fine print at the bottom – He said so himself in II Corinthians 12:9!

Man, I don’t know about ya’ll but I feel pretty unworthy of such a gift. I mean, God really loves us a lot! His grace awakens me all the time to who and whose I am…