Grace. What a beautiful word. Amazing Grace. Matchless Grace. Grace greater than all our sin. God’s grace.
The dictionary defines grace in this way: “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.”
I wonder if we grasp the concept? Free and unmerited favor. We don’t talk about that much outside of Christian circles. Our culture is too sure that we deserve good things and that we should be able to do whatever we want. We don’t want to think that our choices will one day have consequences.
I recently heard it said that we are already under God’s judgment. That the sin in our nation has gone too far. That it’s too late for God’s grace. That troubles me.
Peter, in speaking about the Day of the Lord, tells us,
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:8-9
That Day of the Lord will come. God will judge the earth. He will deal with the problem of evil. But that day is not yet. And those of us who know Him should rejoice in God’s patient waiting.
Jesus is still in the process of pursuing lost sheep. He came to heal the broken-hearted, to bind up the wounds, to break the chains of oppression, to set the captives free. And until He returns or calls us home or our life ends, He isn’t going to stop that mission. We are never told to stop preaching the gospel before we die. We are never told to stop praying for the things God wants. On the contrary, we are told to pray and to not give up.
Our God wants everyone, everyone to be saved. He wants us all to spend eternity with Him. And He wants His people right now to keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking until He answers. When we are asking Him to bring people to faith in Him, we know we are simply asking Him to grant what He already wants to give.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15
Are we asking?
God is calling us to come. He is calling His children to pray. He is calling the world to see Him with eyes wide open. With eyes of faith. He wants us to love Him.
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:35-40
God wants our hearts. To love Him. To love others. But He won’t force us to want Him. He may pursue us until our dying breath, but if we really want to enter eternity without Him, He’ll honor our wishes.
My mom had this quote in the back of her Bible. “Hell – a conscious realization of the silence and absence of God.” That’s what happens if we say “no” to God’s request to believe Him.
If you are still breathing, it is not too late to make the choice to trust Him. Judgment is coming, just as it did in the days of Noah. But that time is not yet. It is not too late for grace. We still have today, the day of salvation. Say yes to His yes over your life.
Will you?
