What About Grace?
Grace, <grac>, Charis, oore ofe or whatever it means in your language. There are more than 170 references to the word Grace in the King James Version of the Bible. Of these, 133 (78%) occurs in the New Testament.
In both Biblical and secular Greek, it is used with far more meanings than can be represented by any one term in English. That is why it has diverse meanings in our daily English. The very many uses of the word Grace points to its truly amazing nature. Trace the roots of grace or charis in Greek, and you will find a verb that means "I rejoice, I am glad". It is almost impossible for any one man to fully dissect and understand grace, but it's one word that stand the Church out of every other religious gathering.
I remember the words: 'by grace are ye saved through faith'. It sums up everything we receive from God, and why we got it. Not by our works or our piety. That is why Christ said 'freely you have received, freely give'. Grace is what God expects us to give the world. In fact, it is Christianity's best gift to the world, a spiritual nova in our midst exerting a force stronger than vengeance, stronger than racism, stronger than hate. It is the most potent weapon of mercy. It helps preach the Gospel with ease, if the experience of it that we have received stays with us. Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are. This is the mentality of the teachings and life of Christ that we must pass to this ungraced, grace thirsty world that we are in.
The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. That's why we frown at the stories Jesus told about grace: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Lost Son, all of which seem to make the same point of someone's loss and the joy of recovering that which was lost.
Well, that's what grace is all about. That's why He sent Christ Jesus. Needless to say, it will be futile for me to try to expand all about grace here, or for me to pretend to know all about grace. But as you go about your journeys through life, remember that God has given you grace for salvation, and its only right for you to extend the grace to others.
Oluwaseyi Ige
08060817920
facebook.com/Seyi.Ige
In both Biblical and secular Greek, it is used with far more meanings than can be represented by any one term in English. That is why it has diverse meanings in our daily English. The very many uses of the word Grace points to its truly amazing nature. Trace the roots of grace or charis in Greek, and you will find a verb that means "I rejoice, I am glad". It is almost impossible for any one man to fully dissect and understand grace, but it's one word that stand the Church out of every other religious gathering.
I remember the words: 'by grace are ye saved through faith'. It sums up everything we receive from God, and why we got it. Not by our works or our piety. That is why Christ said 'freely you have received, freely give'. Grace is what God expects us to give the world. In fact, it is Christianity's best gift to the world, a spiritual nova in our midst exerting a force stronger than vengeance, stronger than racism, stronger than hate. It is the most potent weapon of mercy. It helps preach the Gospel with ease, if the experience of it that we have received stays with us. Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are. This is the mentality of the teachings and life of Christ that we must pass to this ungraced, grace thirsty world that we are in.
The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. That's why we frown at the stories Jesus told about grace: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Lost Son, all of which seem to make the same point of someone's loss and the joy of recovering that which was lost.
Well, that's what grace is all about. That's why He sent Christ Jesus. Needless to say, it will be futile for me to try to expand all about grace here, or for me to pretend to know all about grace. But as you go about your journeys through life, remember that God has given you grace for salvation, and its only right for you to extend the grace to others.
Oluwaseyi Ige
08060817920
facebook.com/Seyi.Ige
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