By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the
grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Grace is not only God’s disposition to do good for us, He does it even when we don’t deserve it. God acts according to His perfect will in order to make good things happen in us and for us.
God’s grace was complete and His perfect will was enacted in Paul even though Paul knew he had to work hard. Not that he worked for his salvation, but worked in submission to our heavenly Father. “By the grace of God . . . I worked harder than any of them.” So when Paul says, “Work out your own salvation,” he adds, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12– 13). So, we remind ourselves again, Grace is power from God to do good things in us and for us.
I am reminded of the Huka Falls at Taupo. The water pours over those falls in abundance, its inexhaustible resource provides an endless flow. Its power and
beauty are ever present. God’s grace comes from a much more majestic and beautiful place. His river of grace is intimate and desires to help us understand His
perfect love for all his children. It’s a river of grace that drives us to the future, at the same time helping us to overcome the past.
So, what’s our response to the grace given to us? The proper response to this grace is to love and adore God with all you are and have. Be confident and thankful that He who begun a good work in you will see it to completion.
Darryl
Photo Credit: Alan Vernon. Flickr via Compfight cc