Why wouldn’t you accept a free gift? Silly question, right? But when you stop and think about it, there could be many good reasons why someone would not accept a free gift.
Welcome to Mindful Monday. I am so glad you have joined us as we continue our exploration of GRACE. God’s grace.
For the next month here AT THE CROSSROADS we are going to break down grace, take it apart, and examine it closely. Together, we are going to deal with the fear, the doubts, and the questions that arise. My disclaimer is that I do not have all the answers. I am not a trained Bible scholar, theologian, or pastor. I am just a simple girl reading the Scriptures and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s truth to me.
We will try to take some of the mystery out of GRACE looking at it from 3 perspectives:
- GRACE DEFINED: What is grace?
- GRACE DELIVERED: How do we receive grace?
- GRACE DISPLAYED: What does grace look like?
Last week, we looked at several definitions of GRACE. We found helpful answers in the Bible, from various theologians and authors, and in illustrations and songs. We tried to scratch the surface of this free, fierce, and forever concept. We also directly confronted the reasons why GRACE may scare or frighten us…why we may be running from GRACE instead of toward it. (If you missed those 2 posts last week, I recommend you go back and read them when you have time.).
Remember, the simplest definition of GRACE is this: the free, unmerited favor of God toward man (Bible Dictionary). It is basically God giving us what we do not deserve and could never earn on our own.
It is a gift. A FREE GIFT.
One of my love languages is gifts…meaning I show love by giving gifts, and I also feel love by receiving gifts. I have to tell you, though, it really is much better to give than receive. For me, giving gifts to people is a tangible way for me to express my feelings. It helps me go beyond words to show: “I know you. I am thinking about you. I love you.” Nothing gives me such pleasure as searching and sacrificing to give the perfect gift. It is not about the actual gift (big, small, extravagant, simple, costly, or inexpensive), but about what it symbolizes and represents.
But have you ever given a gift to someone who did not elicit the response you were hoping for? Either you knew that they were just faking it and would “re-gift” it as soon as possible, or they did not pay much attention to it or seem as excited to receive it as you were to give it? Maybe they never even said thank you or acknowledged the gift. Those reactions are disappointing and hurtful to the gift-giver, but they can and do happen.
However, today we are focusing on receiving gifts and what may make someone reject a free gift. A free gift from God.
It seems almost incomprehensible. Who wouldn’t accept a free gift? Come on…it’s free!
“A man whose hands are full of parcels can’t receive a free gift.”
~ C.S. Lewis
Hmmm…maybe you like to be the gift-giver (just like I do) when it comes to God too.
You are so busy doing, hustling, working, and performing–trying to make yourself acceptable to God that your hands are too full to accept His gift of GRACE. Does that make sense?
It is not that you do not want to accept His gift…you can’t.
In Max Lucado’s book, Grace, he illuminates what many of us believe but find hard to admit:
“Most people embrace the assumption that God saves good people. So be good! Be more. Be honest. Be decent. Pray the rosary. Keep the Sabbath. Keep your promises. Pray five times a day facing east. Stay sober. Pay taxes. Earn merit badges. Yet for all the talk about being good, still, no one can answer the fundamental question: What level of good is good enough? God has a better idea: ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.’ (Ephesians 2:8). We contribute nothing. Zilch…a gift. Our merits merit nothing. God’s work merits everything” (p. 47).
You might need to drop something first, free your hands from all your “good works”, and simply cry out “Help!” to receive this amazing gift of GRACE.
Many of you may think I timed this post to coincide with Easter/Resurrection week…I really wish I could give myself that credit, but I cannot.
However, God timed it perfectly because the only way God makes this free gift available to anyone is by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus dying in your place is the price of GRACE. He is also the only way you can accept this free gift.
Romans 3:22-24 (NLT) tells us:
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
And although this GRACE is free, never for a moment think it is cheap. It cost Jesus his life. Grace is the most expensive commodity there is. Jesus died on the cross to pay for it!
GRACE DELIVERED asks: How do you open your hands and receive this free gift of grace?
The answer is simple (see the verses above). You need to accept it by faith. Why is faith required? Because the gift is something you cannot see or touch.
God’s GRACE has to be accepted like any other gift. Who accepts a gift and then puts it on a shelf, never to open it?
You may wish that grace were automatic, but there is action required on your part. If not, then free will would not exist. As long as your will is free, all God can do is invite and encourage you to accept His free gift of GRACE. He will not force you against your will to accept something you do not want.
So by God’s GRACE, your salvation has been made possible. You can be made right with God not by anything you have done, but by accepting through faith what Christ did for you on the cross.
The choice is yours: will you receive or refuse this free gift of GRACE?
Powerful and worthy of pondering … particularly the Truth of our parcels that require action.
Thank you, dear friend. How perfectly He timed for this week.
Thank you, friend! Amazing grace…to Him be all the glory!
Carla, you have provided such great nuggets to ponder. Especially liked how you mentioned when we are full of works, we don’t have room to accept the free gift of grace. While it sounds foolish to attempt to pay for a gift that has already been freely provided to us, I left to ponder how often am I striving for what Christ has already given to me. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you, Wanda! I feel that grace is something we can keeping learning about and growing in…oh, the depths of the riches of God’s grace. For me, I am learning that GRACE is a gift I need to open daily lest my arms get too full of all of my “stuff.” So grateful for your insight and perspective. God bless you!