I don't fully understand grace, but what little I do know of it humbles me, and helps me begin to understand the depth of God's love for us, His children. None of us can even begin to understand how deep God's love runs, or appreciate fully the grace that God offers us until an accurate appraisal of the cost of our sins is made. And none of us has a good method for doing that. God alone, and His son, who experienced that cost first-hand, are the only ones who know the full extent of our debts and the magnitude of that cost.
It seems that many within the Christian world believe that grace saves us from our sins and then stop there, saying nothing more about it. And while saving us from our sins is no small thing, and a gift that could only come from God, I believe that grace is much, much more than that alone. I believe that grace not only releases us from the guilt and punishment of sin, but that grace is the transformative power of God which helps us change our lives and character into something more and better than we now are.
The things the Lord suffered uniquely qualify Him to be our advocate with the Father and to plead our case before Him. Because He has taken upon Him our sins, He understands exactly what our challenges in this life are and is truly in a position to reach out to us in mercy and through His spirit guide us and comfort us and give us hope and strength and courage to continue when every part of us begins to give in and give way.
There was a time in my life when my sins were so overwhelming, and the guilt I felt because of them so great that I was beginning to think and feel that I should turn away from my religion and stop going to church. I felt like a hypocrite sitting in church week after week while I consistently failed to keep all of God's commandments. Most of the commandments weren't a problem, but there were a couple that were, for me, difficult to observe.
I remember thinking about my options one night and had begun the process of steeling my resolve to leave, when a thought came powerfully into my mind, carried there by God's spirit. God promised me that night that if I would make a covenant with Him to make church worship a regular part of my life from then on, that He would keep me in His constant care, and that I would never stray further than His power could reach or His gaze could penetrate. The Lord knew exactly how I felt that night, and how to help me.
I was filled with hope and gratitude that the Lord cared enough to come to me through His spirit to encourage me on when I was about to give up. Forty years have passed since that night, and, since then, I have made church worship a constant part of my life and have never regretted that decision because of the many blessings my religion and God through His spirit have brought to me.
I also learned that God can and does love us despite our sins and weaknesses and is anxious to help and encourage us if we will allow Him space in our lives (Revelations 3:20). My commitment to go to church weekly is one way that I invite the Lord into my life, giving Him a little space to influence and work with me, and to walk with me by my side, as I make my way through this life.
What grace means to me is that not only is God willing to pay the terrible debt of my sins, but is also willing to show me great patience, granting me the time I need to practice my faith as I learn to call upon and lean on Him and His amazing power to change and restore my heart and heal my soul. The Lord and His atonement is my way forward.
My continued struggle to keep God's commandments is how I show appreciation to God for His grace and all He has done for me. I know that my efforts are ridiculously inadequate, and that through them I could never earn my salvation, but I do hope they reveal my heart to the Lord and show Him my love and appreciation for His keeping me, someone completely unworthy, in His constant and never failing care.
A few of my favorite scriptures which speak of grace:
Here is an amazing talk on grace delivered to the students attending Brigham Young University on July 12, 2011 during one of their weekly devotional assemblies. The speaker is Brad Wilcox who serves as a member of the BYU faculty in its education department, and the title he chose for this talk is His Grace Is Sufficient.
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