Grace be with you

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." Philippians 4:23

     A popular automobile bumper sticker sums it up in two words: "Grace happens." This is good news in a world so often filled with bad news.

     It is not by coincidence the apostle Paul opened and closed his letter to the Philippian church with "grace." The grace of Christ empowers every believer and is most powerfully experienced during weakness and troubles (2 Corinthians 12:8). Once experienced, such grace is unforgettable. You want to pass it on to others.

     What is grace? Grace, derived from the Greek root word, charis, occurs daily. As a noun, grace means favor, beauty, thankfulness, gratitude, delight and kindness.

     Grace is an attitude, often used to describe God's generosity and abundant loving kindness to an undeserving humanity. Divine grace is freely offered to sinners and misfits, tax collectors and prostitutes, superstars and failures, the religious and irreligious alike.

     The gospel of grace is available to every human being, the just and the unjust, without favoritism or preference. This is a marvelous mystery of God, incomprehensible by finite human minds and must be accepted on faith.

     God's grace cannot be earned by good works or acts of piety, bought with money or deserved through personal merit and achievement. Grace is a free gift and only needs to be accepted with childlike simplicity. There are no strings attached.

     This gospel of grace brings us into the reality of salvation, when Christ took upon himself the sins of the entire world, atoning for the sins of every human being ever born, making us righteous before God, through the cross (Philippians 2:5-11).

     Such costly grace empowers every believer to share God's message of divine grace through word and deed-and the world is in desperate need of Christ's grace and mercy.

     I urge you to embrace wholeheartedly your gift of grace-body, mind and spirit. Let grace pervade every fiber of your being, saturate your soul, overflow throughout every aspect of your life. When in doubt, always err on the side of grace and mercy. Always remember that it was amazing grace that saved you.

     May grace abound in your life today and every day. May God's amazing grace embrace you always. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ forever be with your spirit.

     Prayer: Gracious God, bless me with the grace of Christ. Thank you for divine grace and mercy. Saturate my personality with an inward spirit of graciousness and a lifelong commitment to share your grace with others. Amen.

Written by Rev. Dr. Sandy Bochonok
http://soulfoodministry.org
November 20, 2002
Permission is given to freely distribute this reflection throughout Zimbabwe.