Brush Strokes of Grace

I wonder what comes to mind when you hear the word "grace?" Those who are followers of Jesus Christ will often times respond with the standard theological answer that we have been taught or heard preached from the pulpit. "Grace" many will tell you is God's free gift to us who don't really deserve it. We have even developed an acronym to help us remember G.R.A.C.E. (God's Riches At Christ's Expense.) Those believers who have studied Greek will tell you that "grace" is from the Greek word "charis" meaning grace, favor, and kindness. None of these responses in and of themselves is wrong yet we at times can limit "grace" to these stock answers. 

Grace

The reality is grace is so much bigger and can be seen in so many other ways. My husband and I recently attended a wedding in New Hampshire for one of his nieces. The wedding took place near Mount Washington. The colors of the leaves as we drove up through New Hampshire against the backdrop of the mountains was absolutely spectacular! 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands, day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4 NIV)

This is a brush stroke of grace! This is the favor and kindness of God that creation without words displays a magnificence that is a reflection of God. During that same trip, on our way home, we were within feet of becoming involved in an accident. We did not clearly see what happened but saw the aftermath as we noticed plastic from the body of a car suddenly flying through the air as several vehicles were rear ended. We were able to stop in time and not become part of the pile up.

"You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7 NIV)

This is a brush stroke of grace! The Lord's hand was upon us in that moment and we are grateful. This incident is not to imply that God will rescue us from every dilemma or difficulty we experience in this life, however it's in the difficult moments that we can still experience a brush stroke of His grace. The greatest brush stroke of grace is the salvation we receive through Jesus Christ.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV)

We are a brush stroke of grace

The word "handiwork" can be translated as "work of art." In essence we are a brush stroke of grace! When we commit our lives to Christ through placing our faith in Him, we are inviting God to use us as a pallet to paint the world with His grace. How awesome is that! I pray that you will keep your eyes open to every brush stroke from the Master's hand and then go and paint the world with His love!
Shalom,
Pastor Sheree