He is Grace
It'd be silly to talk about Jesus without talking about grace. Jesus Christ IS the grace of God. We can talk about Him being the creator, being eternal, etc, but when He came to this earth as a man, He didn't come flaunting those things. His primary mission was grace and love.
What is Grace, exactly? (thanks C.a.t. ;)
One of the definitions on dictionary.reference.com is "a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior." A definition that I've commonly heard, when referring to God's grace, is "unmerited favor." When comparing it to mercy, I've heard a definition like this: "mercy is not getting what you DO deserve for sin, and grace is getting what you DON'T deserve: favor, love, forgiveness, a clean slate, etc." As humans born into sin, we're guilty; and no amount of "good works" can outweigh our sin. (Try telling a judge "but look at the GOOD things I've done! Doesn't that cancel out the crimes I committed??). Grace is when Jesus comes in, takes the blame for your sin, and offers you the favor of God through belief and trust in Him. Grace is when I wake up in the morning and suddenly know and feel that God loves me, forgives me, and sees me as holy and blameless because of the blood of Jesus, even though I may have rebelled against Him the night before.
I'd love to just open up this post to all my friends to write about God's grace themselves, because it's so easy and pleasant to talk about! Anyone who has truly experienced Christ can attest to His amazing grace. Maybe some people are initially attracted to Him by something like His healing, His peace, etc. But for me, when I realize that He loves me regardless of what I do and gives me His unmerited favor, that's the most attractive thing to me.
A few things that stick out to me about Jesus and how He showed the grace of God are: when He saved the adulterous woman; His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well; the fact that He spent time around the worst sinners; and when He saved Paul. Were any of these people seeking God when they encountered Jesus? No. They weren't seeking to better their spiritual lives or turn over a new leaf. They weren't looking for Jesus, or preparing their hearts for the coming Messiah. No, they were merely going along with their miserable lives.
Read John 8:1-12
This event is a picture of "salvation through Christ" as it applies to every human being. This story sums it all up. Think about it:
1) We all start out dead in our trespasses -- sinful and unrepentant.
2) The #1 sin that rebellion against God was compared to in the OT was adultery. Anyone who rebels against God is an adulterer in the sense that they are violating the covenant relationship that God made with His people. This woman from the story is almost certainly a Jewish woman who knows the Law. So, just like anyone who knows the law, by sinning in ANY way, she was "cheating on God." Any time we sin, we're betraying our First love to seek pleasure elsewhere.
3) Satan is the "Accuser of the brethren." We eventually become aware of our sin, as Satan drags us through the streets, shaming us, filling us with guilt and condemnation, bringing us before God and telling us that we deserve nothing less than death. (And he's right -- living in the sinful nature only leads to death. Just as the pharisees were right -- according to the law, she should be stoned).
4) As our sinful, dead lives bring us to the point of death in every sense of the word, Jesus enters the situation; His voice pierces through the darkness. When we are truly hopeless and can't do anything to "clean ourselves up" for God, He comes through anyway. First, He gets rid of the accuser. He removes the outside condemnation and covers our shame.
5) Finally, He says "neither do I condemn you." By facing your creator, having broken every rule that He's established, and hearing Him say "I do not condemn you," you are now freed up to live a life in adoration of Him. The one who has every right to punish and condemn has instead taken upon Himself the condemnation of your sin, even though you did not know Him.
I'm gonna throw in a plug for my friend Joel who pastors Vineyard Blue church in San Diego. He tells the story of the adulterous woman beautifully in one of his messages. This link will take you to the 4:12 point. Listen from that point until about 13:30. 8 and a half minutes, if you can manage it. It's really great. If you don't have that much time, then start it at the 11-minute mark.
http://youtu.be/OSsWxbrsllM?t=4m12s
The primary aspect of God's grace that I'm pointing out is that grace not only comes to someone who doesn't fully deserve it. It comes to someone who isn't even expecting or seeking it. It blows me away how Jesus broke all social boundaries and rules to talk to a Samaritan woman and reveal amazing truth to her. She didn't deserve it, and she certainly wasn't looking for the Son of God. Not only was she a Samaritan (despised by Jews), and a woman (no social rights or respect), but even for a Samaritan woman she was at the bottom of society. She was guilty of a shameful lifestyle. And He came and showed love to her in spite of everything.
If Jesus can do that, then we have no reason to hesitate to approach Him and receive His grace!
We all just want to be accepted. We all want to be loved. And any time that feel like we're lacking those things, we can turn to Jesus, who showers us with grace.
Romans 8
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 13
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
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