THE GRACE OF GOD (Part 2) Who can receive God's Grace.

This month, we are focusing on ‘Grace’ and in the previous article, we explored what Grace is, its nature…a free and undeserving Gift from God. Today we are going to be talking about who receives this wonderful gift from God.

BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD… This is a statement we are used to hearing in our social interactions whether from others or ourselves. It has been used so often that the implication of the statement has become watered down. But if we stop and THINK on it again we will clearly see how important the Grace of God is in our lives.

Who can receive God’s grace?

No one is deserving of this gift from God, yet it is available to everybody because of God’s love for us. I believe anyone no matter their race, their religion can receive the Grace of God through faith and if they believe. (Romans 3:22 &23.) The grace of God has to be received meaning it should be SOUGHT AND ACCEPTED and one way we do this is to let the Grace of God lead. Let it drive your thoughts and actions. One must become nothing so that the Grace of God may fill them.

Another way is that God’s Grace can be bestowed upon a chosen individual for a particular purpose. Take Saul for example, the man who persecuted believers incessantly, dragging them out of their homes (it was not an easy thing being a believer at that time I can imagine). Yet God put into place a series of events that eventually led to his conversion. (Acts 9:1-20).I will like to note here that in the end Saul accepted God and he believed that He was Lord. Thus, God was able to use him to fulfill his will of spreading the good news to Israel. God gave Paul his Grace to attain His purpose. Saul heard the voice of Jesus Christ thus God questioned him directly “Why do you persecute me?”

You might not have an experience as dramatic as Saul (Paul) but God could be speaking to you through your neighbor or your friend or someone you do not know at all or within yourself as your conscience. Listen to him and receive his Grace. So, do not say to yourself, oh I am so full of sin and no matter how hard I try I am never able to stop, I cannot ask God for forgiveness a hundred times and keep on sinning there is no hope for me. You are wrong. There is hope, and there is hope because there is grace.

“But where sin increased, God’s grace increased much more” Romans 5:20. It is through sadness that we appreciate happiness, through loneliness that we appreciate company, through poverty that we appreciate wealth and in this same way it is in sin and those terrible dark times that we will appreciate the warm glow of God’s love and mercy. This is hope for you and me and everyone that God has made. God’s grace is available to us sinners and the more hopeless you think your case is, well my dear reader the more Grace is circling your life waiting for you to put your trust in God, believe and have faith in him, how? Through our lord Jesus Christ.

Let me conclude with a few words from Billy Graham’s book Peace with GOD… ‘Faith is simply the channel through which God’s grace to us is received. It is the hand that reaches out and receives the gift of his love.’ I will also like to bring out a few things Grace does for us which will be elaborated upon in subsequent articles.

GRACE INSTRUCTS US. Titus 2:11
IT WILL FREE YOU. That heavy burden will become lighter as the Grace of God works within your life. This reiterates my above point that we have to surrender to the Grace of God.
GRACE FORGIVES YOU. Ephesians 1:17
IT BLESSES YOU. Romans 8: 32
IT TRANSFORMS YOU
IT WILL DWELL WITHIN YOU
GRACE EMPOWERS YOU

I like that last bit very much. It doesn’t suffice to only know all these to but know how to receive the Grace of God into our lives and how to let it lead us. An elderly very wise friend of man once told me;“When one gives freely of oneself, God’s Grace is bestowed when least expected.”

When next you bow your head in prayer or find yourself deep in the dark, remember to pray sincerely to God for his graceto see you through. We will be praying with and for you.