I have a daily struggle appreciating the value of God's grace. Continually, I fall into sin when I fail to gaze upon the depths of my iniquity and the glory of His grace. I certainly have not mastered the subject of grace, but I wrote this article in the hope to capture a deeper understanding. In this life we will never fathom the magnitude of God's grace, but I pray that you and I will catch a glimpse of light from the wildfire of truth found in God's character.

We first must realize the impact of grace upon our lives. Most people only think of grace as the means of salvation but fail to recognize that grace extends into every aspect of the Christian life. It can be discouraging to dive into a topic that appears so beyond all human comprehension, but the Christian walk is all about growing in knowledge of a Creator whose ways are far beyond us. A right perspective of grace results from grasping man's depravity coupled with God's unfailing love.

Romans 3:10-12 says,

"As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

This verse teaches that no one begins with a perfect life. We all are born sinners and actively rebel against God. We aren't sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. The flaw is deep within our soul like a cancer that is slowly killing us and cannot be rooted out. No one looks to God for help. Many people believe we are like infants, helplessly crawling about searching for God; however, that is a completely inaccurate illustration of our depravity. The truth is we are all sprinting straight towards the caverns of hell shaking our fists at God. Yet, He lovingly and graciously provides us another way.

There is nothing desirable about us to make us worth saving. Perhaps the biggest lie in American culture is if we are a good person than God will allow us to enter heaven. That lie comes straight from the mouth of Satan. Isaiah 64:6 says, "...and all our righteous deeds are like filthy garments..." Our English translations prevent us from receiving the full revelations of the text because the Hebrew actually refers to menstrual garments of women as equal to the"righteous deeds" we clothe ourselves in. We believe our resume of good works is an ivory castle, when it actually resembles a pile of mud to God.

While we can see examples of God's grace throughout the Bible and in our lives, the primary and ultimate picture of God's grace reveals itself through the cross.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

1 John 4:9 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

Even when we were undeserving of anything good, God freely chose to send His Son to die on our behalf. So often we take for granted how personal this act of love is. Christ died for you. He died for me. We can attempt to conceive the magnitude of such a deed by comparing God’s grace for us to the grace an earthly father shows his son in a moment of error. But even this earthly relationship falls vastly short of the perfect union that existed between the God the Father and the God the Son.

God loves us enough to put to death Jesus for our sake. I pray that you do not let these beautiful words escape your heart. One of my favorite passages of scripture is Jesus' prayer to the Father in the garden. John 17:24 "... so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." It blows my mind that Jesus compares the Father's love for us with the Father's love of His Son.

If grace is getting something we don't deserve, then what better portrayal exists than the cross? Amen! The greatest gift conceivable was given to the most despicable imaginable.

Grace changes everything! Do you feel the rush to obey and follow Christ now? Dwelling on the meaning of the cross gives us the right motive to live for Christ! Don't ever forsake the message of grace revealed in the cross. We must always strive to come to a more complete understanding of our sin and God's love! Let the message of grace stir in us the desire to worship God and appreciate Him fully!