“Three
times I pleaded with the Lord to take it (a thorn in his flesh) away from me.
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.’ ” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
The
apostle Paul suffered some serious ailment which seemingly would not go away in
spite of persistent prayer. God humbled him with these words ‘My grace is
sufficient for you.’ He prayed for relief but God waved his concerns away as it
was not a handicap to effectively carrying out his mission. It must have
bothered the apostle a great deal but God wanted to allay his fears because He
already had it covered.
God
has a number of things covered for us by His grace. It could be likened to a
giant parasol to protect us from the scorching heat---at no cost. We are
undeserving of such attention, but God makes it available nevertheless. “He
causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
God’s
grace can be traced back to the book of Genesis when Adam and Eve, after they
had been driven from the Garden of Eden dressed in leaves, were provided with
more permanent clothing after God used the skin of a slaughtered ram. Likewise,
the Children of Israel, prior to entering the Promised Land, were assured that
their possession of the land would be beneficial. They would be entering “....
a land with large flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all
kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards
and olive groves you did not plant...” (Deuteronomy 6:10-11)
If
humanity had to merit God’s grace through any effort of its own, it would not
be grace; because Grace is the expression of God’s unconditional love---with no
strings attached. It is poured out of God’s goodness. During the Children of
Israel’s journey through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, we
learn that “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during
these forty years.” (Deuteronomy 8:4)
God’s saving grace at work!
The
story is told of a prisoner of war who escaped during the Cambodian war and was
heading for the mountainous region-- littered with groves---for cover. As the
soldiers on his trail drew closer he panicked and offered a prayer to God for
his safety. He was expecting that God would probably raise a brick wall to seal
the entrance to the grove where he was hiding. Then suddenly he saw a giant
spider that started spinning its web and in a light-hearted remark he frowned
on the spider’s presence. In a few minutes though, the spider had spun its web
to cover the space to the entrance.
He
could hear the soldiers at his heels fast approaching his hiding place; but
when they reached this particular grove one of them after seeing the spider’s
web all over the entrance dismissed any human presence there. The spider’s web
was an indication that no one had entered that grove for a very long time. That
saved his life and he was able to escape to safety. Did he merit or deserve it? No, it’s just that God’s grace was sufficient
for him.
God’s
ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8)
That He has chosen the nation of Israel over all other nations as his
‘treasured possession’ is sheer grace. “The Lord your God has chosen you out of
all the people on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured
possession.” (Deuteronomy 7: 6b)
More
grace?
How
do we respond to grace? Will knowing that God would not treat us as our sins
deserve or that He has made ample provision for His grace push us to commit
more sin? In sum, would God’s grace
increase our appetite for sin so that we may benefit from more grace?
No, it should not be that way!
Yet
because of God’s blanket grace, some argue that they can continue sinning for
grace to abound. “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace
may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
(Romans 6:1-2) Grace was not given as a license to sin but to free us from its
grip so we can savour newly-found freedom in righteousness that only following
Jesus Christ brings.
The
apostle Paul admonished “...not to receive God’s grace in vain.” (2 Corinthians
6:1) We must seek therefore to grow in His grace because grace opens our eyes
to God’s goodness towards humanity. Our response to grace will not change the
nature of God. He longs to be gracious unto each and every one of His creation.
We
are living in an era of Grace. God is offering us time to be right with Him
because after death there is no grace but judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) Let us be
wise, listen to God’s word and run for our salvation whilst we have life!