There is a famous Christian hymn, written by John Newton, called “Amazing Grace”. In the beginning, it says:
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see”
This short stanza summarizes the amazingness of the grace of God. As we talked about in some previous blog posts, God created man to have an everlasting fellowship with Him. Man was God’s most perfect creation and he had a perfect life, living under His guidance and inspiration. As it is written in the book of Genesis, when God created Adam and Eve, He had put both of them in a beautiful garden with full provision, the Garden of Eden.
However, man decided to disobey God. And the perfect fellowship between man and God was broken, because of that sin, that act of disobedience. Man had sinned and that sin perverted his nature. He was created to be perfect, to be inspired by God in everything he would do or think. Now, man was a sinner. Since Adam was the first man, he passed that sinful nature, that inclination for sinning, through his genes to all mankind.
As expressed by that hymn presented above, mankind was forever lost and blind without the guidance of God. Ephesians 2:1-2 says: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world…” As much as man did good works, he, by himself, by his “good deeds”, could never go back to his state before sin. His nature was forever stained by that act of rebellion. The perfect spiritual connection between man and God was forever lost. And, when I say man, I mean mankind, the entire human race.
However, there is the grace of God! The Bible says, in James 1:17, that God created all the lights in the heaven. He never changes. He does not have any variation in His character. He is the Father of lights, who does not vary, meaning that He cannot dwell in the same place as the darkness. He could destroy man, after all, He is the creator of man and Earth. He could destroy man and create a new creature, someone more obedient. He is sovereign and almighty. Nobody is above Him. However, here is what I want to highlight about Him: God is good and full of mercy.
Because of His goodness, He did not destroy man. However, He could not ignore that sin. He could not ignore what had happened. Therefore, He came up with a solution. As we read in Romans 5:6-8, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. God showed His amazing goodness, His amazing love, by sending His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us.
Here is the perfect expression of the grace of God! The grace of God is the everlasting love, compassion and mercy for all mankind – from the only true God that ever existed and that will ever exist. The grace of God is the love that rescued us. God took the initiative to save man. Man chose to disobey and to pervert his nature, but God chose to save us from the strongholds of sin. Man did not deserve this grace; however, because God is good, He decided to give us a new opportunity of life. You do not need to convince Him about anything; God is full of grace, because He is good.
You might be reading this right now and you might be thinking: “But I am really happy with the way I am living! I do not need God! I do not need that salvation that you are talking about!” And you are free to make that decision. God is not imposing Himself to you! He is not forcing you to follow Him. God is seeking genuine obedience. The kind of obedience that comes from the heart. John 3:16 says that God gave His Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish. God did not give Jesus to force you to believe and to accept Him. He made salvation available to you; He made a better kind of life available to you.
I am here to tell you that there is a better way to live this life you are living. There is a way full of purpose and with much more guidance. Jesus can fill any “hole” in your life. He is the piece that is missing. There is no one in your entire life that will love you more than the way God loves you. Because of His grace, much before you were born, God already had a perfect plan to save your life. He already had a purpose for you. He already had a life full of goodness, peace and joy for you.
In Romans 14:17, it is written: “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. Goodness, as it is written in the Bible, refers to integrity of thinking, feeling and acting. Peace refers to safety, prosperity and harmony. Joy refers to cheerfulness and delight. Sometimes, we try to find all of those things in temporary things. And you can even be successful in finding pleasure and prosperity in your work or in finding safety and happiness in your relationships; however, with God, you have the assurance of finding the goodness, peace and joy that never ends, that lasts forever, because they come from His Spirit. Those will not be feelings, based on circumstances, based on things surrounding you. Because you are spiritually connected to God, you can already find inside of you everything you need to face adversity.
God is interested in your future! Through His grace, He saves us from that sinful nature. And also through that same grace, God gives us abilities and the power to live productive lives, worthwhile lives. As I said, God has a full plan for your life. Because He loves you, He wants to save you and He also wants you to have the best kind of life. He wants to inspire you and fill you with divine abilities to express His nature in everything you do.
God has the power to restore what is broken. He can turn into something good what once was bad. For Him, it does not matter who you were or what you have done before accepting Jesus into your heart. Much before you were born, He has already loved you and He will always love you. God can replace a sinful heart with a heart that is eager to follow His guidance. However, you have to give the first step! You need to recognize that you need Jesus Christ inside of your heart. And you have to be willing to change!
The grace of God is the nutrient that you need to satisfy every need you may have. Through the grace of God, we can overcome fear, temptations, anxiety and circumstances around us. Because of His amazing grace, God gave Jesus Christ to save us from that sinful nature we had; and, with that amazing grace, we can live potentially better. Once, we were all blind and lost, but, with God, we can see a bright future ahead of us.