Christ Received is Grace Delivered

“And from all His fullness we have received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”                 John 1:16-17

                Within each of us is a natural desire to live a full life – a life of enjoyment, success, complete with a sense of purpose and meaning, along with hope and some measure of contentment. However, within these seemingly ‘good things’ is an emptiness that will exists if we’re missing an essential element of the Christian faith – GRACE (that unmerited, unearned Divine Favor) that rests upon our lives as we accept Christ fully, surrendering every area of life to Him. We should be reminded here that Jesus came into this world representing the “Fullness of God” – His attributes, His character – everything that our heavenly Father is to us is in Christ alone.

                The Apostle John writes of us receiving ‘grace upon grace’ originating from ‘all the fullness of God,’ meaning as we become redeemed in Christ, God’s overwhelming grace is poured over us day by day, hour by hour, and moment by moment. John Calvin writes of our condition before Jesus becomes our Savior and Lord, “We are all utterly destitute and empty of spiritual blessings; for the abundance which exists in Christ is intended to supply our deficiency, to relieve our poverty (not merely physical, but spiritual poverty) to satisfy our hunger and thirst.” For it is only God’s grace, truth, and promises that will truly satisfy, relieve, and rescue us from the pits of despair and hopelessness which we may find ourselves in moments or seasons of hardship, suffering, and emptiness.

                But what amazing hope we have in God through Christ Jesus as we’re promised a daily supply of His sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 12:9), and that grace is continually heaped upon grace as we press into the Lord, seeking Him, inviting Him into our daily circumstances. On our part is the often challenging, difficult, or painful experience of ‘complete surrender,’ trusting God with our journey regardless of where in and by what circumstance we find ourselves in this season of life. For even in this, God provides to us a measure of faith by which we progressively surrender more of who we are, to become more of who He desires us to be.

Connecting Faith & Life:

                Father, thank You for the unlimited grace you pour over our lives daily, even when we’re not keenly aware of it. Your abundant grace freely given, strengthens us and carries us through difficult seasons and circumstances of life reminding us that when we are weak You are strong. As You reminded the Apostle Paul, Your grace is always sufficient to meet us where we are providing ongoing hope, strength, and endurance for the journey. Thank you for daily heaping on our lives a generous portion of Your grace upon grace delivered through the personal relationship we have with our Savior, Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.