R-Riches
A-At
C-Christ's
E-Expense
Simply put, Grace can be defined as God's unmerited favor. It is God's free action for the benefit of His people. God's justice and mercy can be compared to the pardon that a governor of a state can give to a guilty prisoner who is facing execution (the punishment of death) for something that he or she actually did. Without this pardon, without this MERCY, they will be given the JUSTICE they deserve. But if the governor goes on and gives that guilty prisoner a free house, total freedom and unlimited resources he has given that person GRACE.
We are deserving of death because all of us have sinned Romans 3:23, 6:23, yet God offers us a pardon (grace). Jesus died for us so that we could live, but His death can be our "salvation" only if we accept it. Just like the prisoner above, we can turn it down or we can accept this pardon that God offers John 3:16.
Grace is the power of God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves and the fact is, we cannot do anything for ourselves. Jesus says, "...without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5
The Bible gives us a beautiful example of what grace is and does. When Moses took the Children of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert the people soon became thirsty, but there wasn't any water to be found, especially not for 2,000,000 people, plus their herds of animals. God told Moses to strike a specific rock and He (God) would give the people water. The water that came out of that rock demonstrates the grace of God flowing out to all who would drink. It also caused the parched and barren land to blossom which in turn gave the people and animals something to eat. Without this water, without God's grace supplying the needs of the people, the people would have died. Christ is the Rock, He is also the Living Water.
Without God's grace, without the pardon that God gives us, we will die. We don't deserve the good that we get, but we are supplied daily with the light of the sun, air to breath, something to eat and drink. Without the materials God has provided us with we cannot even supply electricity on our own to make light and oxygen or even create food. God supplies all we need, but we must choose to accept His gifts, or to reject them. We have the option of refusing to eat or drink. We have the option of closing ourselves up in an air tight, waterproof and darkened room, but it will kill us.
And God's grace does not stop with just our physical needs. He has supplied what is needed for our spiritual welfare as well. If we will only read it and hide it in our hearts, God's Holy Word, the Bible, contains all that we need to be happy, gain total freedom and have eternal life. The Bible tells us about who God is and what He is like. In addition to the Bible the Father allowed His Son, Jesus, to come and ransom us even though we do not deserve it. The life of Jesus was another of the Father's gifts to us to tell us who He is and what He is like.
God's grace is all around us. He wants us to live forever and be happy. We can accept some of His grace and live for a few years, or we can accept ALL His grace and LIVE forever! It's your choice.
