When I was a kid, I learned an easy way to remember what Grace is - God's riches at Christ's expense. Very simplistic but it gets the point across somewhat. Lucado starts off talking about the grace we are familiar with in everyday life: a grace period, a fall from grace, someone who is gracious or graceful....on the list goes. He says we've settled for a wimpy grace but his book delves into the deeper question, have you been changed/strengthened/shaped by grace? One verse Lucado quotes early on is from Paul, where Paul says 'It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20)'. As Lucado states, when grace happens, Christ moves in and takes control. There is nothing we can do to be acceptable for Christ, Christ must move in and change us, fill us with grace.
What is the first bible verse to pop in your head about grace? For me, it is Eph 2:8-9 (ESV) For by
grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Were it not for the grace of God, no one could be saved, there are no deeds that we can do to get saved, only accept the gift of grace from God and believe fully in Him. However, we don't just receive His gift of grace but we also give the gift of grace to others. The story in the bible of the servant who owed his master a lot of money but was shown mercy and told he didn't have to pay the debt. What happened? Did he pass on his good fortune to others? No, he had one who owed him little thrown in prison until he could pay it. The master called him in and reprimanded him and had him thrown into prison until the debt could be paid. As Lucado says halfway thru his book, 'To accept grace is to accept the vow to give it'. That servant accepted grace but didn't accept the vow to pass it on.
God says, 'My grace is all sufficient for you'. Will you trust that it is? Will you accept His gift, let it change you, and pass it on to others?
I received this book as part of the BookSneeze blogger program.
