The Grace of God
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Psalm 103:8
For me Psalm 103 is David’s powerful prayer of thanksgiving for God’s great goodness to us. It is a very uplifting read describing His caring, steadfastness, comfort, and protection of His people. Taken in context this verse couples with the following several that describe the love that yielded our salvation:
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
Out of this grace, mercy, and love our God sent Jesus to become the perfect and final sacrifice that would ultimately pay the price for our sins and clear the way for our salvation for eternity. There are few things that are more reassuring of God’s love and grace to me than that He created the path for our redemption to be free of the penalty of our sins through Jesus. And He did it for all of humanity – even for those who haven’t yet acknowledged Him as the Creator of the universe. And it’s free; no one can earn it.
That Grace… that salvation/redemption is available for anyone to accept. To be beneficiaries of this sort of Grace is hard to accept or understand for many people when everything else in the world is earned on individual merit – promotion, income, awards, etc. It is ingrained in us from birth as the route to a successful life. That Grace isn’t natural. No, it’s not. It’s supernatural. And only God can give that Grace.
Father, I thank You for Your love and grace that accepts and redeems me. I thank You for giving me a pathway to You through Christ’s sacrifice. I pray for the Holy Spirit to help me to live in accordance with Your will until You call me home. I pray for all of Your creation to accept Your Grace and for those of us who know You to be channels of Your love in the world. In Jesus Holy name, Amen.