Often when I think of God’s grace and our response, I think of watering our lawns in Texas. Trying to keep a lawn green in the heat and drought of a Texas summer is a big deal. There are three basic ways to do that.
Some people do it themselves, dragging their hoses and sprinklers around and moving them constantly. It’s a lot of work, and it can be costly because it’s often inefficient and it uses so much water.
A second way to water a lawn is to put in an automatic sprinkler system. All you have to do is set the timer and let the system work. But it’s not perfect, because there can be leaks and malfunctions in the system. If you have a sprinkler system, you know that you still have to keep your eye on it. Nothing ever works perfectly all the time, and you still have to pay the water bill.
The third way to water a lawn is the best, which is when God opens up the heavens and pours His rain on the land. The water is free, and all you can do is watch it rain, thank the Lord, and then mow the lawn in response to the rain. When heaven opens up, it rains evenly and it’s all free.
Some Christians are like the do-it-yourself water-sprinkling folk. They are trying to do it all by themselves, dragging around their lists of good works and checking off when they have done each item.
Other people see how much work the first group is doing, and they decide that’s too much. So they try the automatic approach to grace. They sit back and wait to grow automatically by going to church, listening to the sermon, and singing the songs. They just wait for God to move them.
But there’s a third group who are ready to work. They have their lawn mowers ready to go, so to speak. But they also realize that the best growth comes when heaven opens up and rains on them. These are the folks who understand that it’s all by grace.
Read 2 Corinthians 9:8. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
Reflect: Can you remember a time when you received an award you didn’t deserve? Did you accept it? How did you feel?
Reflect: Explain in your own words what God’s grace has accomplished for us that we cannot accomplish for ourselves.
Reflect: According to 2 Corinthians 9:8, what is the ultimate purpose of God’s grace?
My friend, grace is God’s kindness and gentleness to us. God wanted to make us His children, so instead of expressing His wrath against us because of our sin, He poured it out on His own sinless Son on the cross. Jesus took our punishment so God could embrace us. We have a brand-new relationship with God through grace.
Reflect: In your own words, explain the relationship between God’s grace and your spiritual growth.
For His Kingdom,
Tony Evans
Prayer: Forgive me for the times that I have tried to do everything on my own. Help me to accept Your grace, knowing that it is the unmerited favor of God. Also, help me to understand the purpose behind Your gift of grace, as it develops in me an environment for spiritual growth. In Christ's name, Amen.
