Grace

Grace

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

RECENTLY I WAS READING A BOOK that explained what the words grace and faith would have meant to a first-century Christian as these words were commonly used to describe a relationship between two people. The idea of grace was in reference to a gift that a patron might bestow on someone, and in return, the person receiving the gift would respond with faithfulness and allegiance. There were strings attached, relationally, between the two parties involved. Now, if the patron had a request, the receiver was beholden to fulfill it. The two were tied in relationship to one another because of the gift that had been exchanged.

And so, as Paul explains to his readers what Jesus has done for us, he uses a scenario that would have been very relatable to the people reading his letters. They would have known how this system of grace and faithfulness worked. They would have understood the free gift of grace, but also the faithfulness that was then expected in return from the receiver. They would have known that gifts had strings, relationally, between the gift giver and receiver and after they accepted a gift, their faithfulness would have been required back to the giver.

As I’ve thought more about grace and what it would have meant to the early-church believers, I realized that often I may have missed the faithfulness that is required from me for accepting God’s grace. Is grace a free gift, available to everyone? Yes, absolutely. But once we’ve accepted his gift of grace, there is an expectation that we would faithfully turn around and give that grace out to others around us. The gift of grace is not just meant for me to hold tightly to, with no expectations from God in regards to my faithfulness back to him. We have been given grace, freely, and in turn, freely must give it out to others.

Lord, thank you for the gift of grace you’ve given to us. May we respond in faithfulness and extend that same grace out toward others. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: What is one way you can extend the gift of grace that you have received toward someone else today?