Grace is God extending a hand of help instead of pointing a finger of judgment. He has every right to judge me, and one day He will. But until that day, He offers me grace.
You might think grace is a New Testament thing, like God was grumpy for 39 books and then mellowed out. Not even close. The first time the word shows up, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). God showed grace to Abraham, Joseph, Esther and Israel. Paul opens almost every letter with "grace to you." And the very last verse of the Bible is "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all" (Revelation 22:21 ESV). It's grace from cover to cover.
The Greek word charis means favor, goodwill and loving-kindness. It also carries the idea of joy, delight and pleasure. Here are four things I want you to know about it.
1. Grace is how God feels about you
It's His heart toward you. God has joy when He thinks about you. He delights in you like a proud dad. And it's about who you are, not what you do. When my kids were little, I'd ask them, "Hey, what does Daddy think about you?" and they'd rattle off, "I'm smart. I'm cute. You love me. You're proud of me." So what does your heavenly Father think about you? He delights in you. He loves you. Knowing that is how you shut down the voice of the accuser.
2. Grace is the open door to a relationship with God
I don't open my house to just anybody. Please don't show up. But my kids have an open-door policy at my house, and they always will. Not because they earned it, but because they're mine. God decided to have an open-door policy with humanity. It's open to everyone, and we walk through it by faith. Sadly, plenty of people stand on the porch and never come in.
3. Grace isn't earned or deserved
"So I need to clean up before God will accept me?" No. If grace were a payment for good behavior, God would be your boss instead of your Father. "If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace" (Romans 11:6 ESV). This takes the pressure off. If I didn't do anything to earn God's grace, I can't do anything to keep it. It rests on God's character, not my performance, and thank God for that, because my performance is all over the place. I don't work for grace. I work from grace.
4. Grace isn't a license to sin. It helps me overcome sin
Somebody always asks, "So if I'm covered by grace anyway, can't I just do whatever I want?" Paul saw that one coming: "Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" (Romans 6:1–2 NLT). Grace doesn't just cover you in your sin. It empowers you to walk out of it. God "is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). Grace lets me be a work in progress without excusing my lack of progress.
So when you're tempted, weak or caught in sin, run toward God, not away from Him. Adam hid in the bushes because he wasn't sure how God would respond. You don't have to. "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16 ESV).
Scripture: Genesis 6:8; Revelation 22:21; Romans 11:6; Romans 6:1–7; Philippians 2:12–13; Ephesians 2:8–9; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 12:9