What God reveals affects us all

It is truly by grace alone that you are saved. You yourselves can do nothing more than accept in trust what God gives you. You have not earned it through any work; for God does not want anyone to be able to appeal to him on their own merits (Ephesians 2:8–9).

How wonderful when we learn to understand the grace of Christians! This understanding removes the pressure and stress that we often experience. It makes us relaxed and joyful Christians who are outward, not inward. God's grace means: Everything depends on what Christ has done for us and not what we do or can not do for ourselves. We can not acquire salvation. The good news is that we can not earn it, because Christ has already done that. All we have to do is accept what Christ has done for us and show great gratitude for doing so.

But we also have to be careful! We must not allow the lurking vanity of human nature to lead us to think arrogantly. God's grace is not exclusive to us. It does not make us better than the Christians who have not yet fully understood the nature of grace, nor does it make us better than the non-Christians who do not know about it. Real understanding of grace does not lead to pride but to deep reverence and worship of God. Especially when we realize that grace is open to all, not just today's Christians. It applies to everyone, even if they know nothing about it.

Jesus Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (Römer 5,8)He died for all who live today, for all who have died, for all who are yet to be born, and not just for us who call ourselves Christians today. This should humble us and fill us with heartfelt gratitude that God loves us, cares for us, and shows interest in each and every one of us. We should therefore look forward to the day when Christ returns and every person will come to the knowledge of grace.

Are we talking about this compassion and care of God with the people we come in contact with? Or are we distracted by the appearance of a person, their background, education, or race, and fall into the trap of judging, judging them to be less important and less valuable than we judge ourselves to be? Just as God's grace is open to all, and concerns all, so we seek to keep hearts and minds open for those whom we encounter in our life journey.

by Keith Hatrick