[:en]
by Abigail Lim
What can I say about God’s grace? It is truly amazing and wonderful! I was fearfully and wonderfully made by God, ever since I was in my mother’s womb. I was chosen by Him to be one of His adopted daughters, and predestined to be a light in this world full of darkness.
Do we know, or can find anyone like Him – a God that did not only define love, but perfectly demonstrate its meaning? Because of His great love for us, we were showered with favor and blessing that we don’t deserve and earn. This is Grace, an undeserved, unmerited, and unearned favor of God shown towards us humans.
Born in a Christian family
Born in a Christian family, one of the things we were “obligated” to do on Sunday was to go to church. I didn’t really understand why we must go. All I did in church was to sit and pretend that I was invisible. I even believed that I really was invisible because nobody seemed to talk to or even notice me.
I was told that going to church is a must, but it took time for me to realize that this was not something we should do under duress. It should come to us heartily, because we wanted to, and because we needed to be in the presence of God and have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Church helps us know God more – not treating Him merely like an occasional (and shallow) acquaintance but deepening our relationship with Him. Church can also bring us together with our fellow believers, allowing us to share our joys and burdens with them, and coming to Christ together in prayer.
I admit that when I was young, I did not appreciate the essence of going to Sunday School and attending church service. I always felt out of place during Sunday school; it was more of a torture for me than getting to know Christ. Church service was also boring; my friends and I usually ended up talking more than listening; not hearing a thing about what the pastor or speaker said.
Change of outlook
But God silently worked what He has planned for me. I eventually changed my outlook towards going to Sunday School and attending Church service. I was now excited to listen to my teachers’ stories about how much God loves me, and what he did to show how much He loves you and me.
Even until now, I am still amazed by His grace and love towards us. His gift of grace is the greatest gift I have ever received. And having him as God, Savior, Father, and especially, as a Best friend, is more than what I can ask for. He is my greatest treasure.
I always asked God these questions, which were inspired by the song, “Who Am I?” by Casting Crowns:
Who am I, Lord?
That you would care to know?
That you would care to feel my hurts.
That you would look on me with love.
That you would calm the storm that is within me.
That you would never fail to always light my way.
A sinner like me feels ashamed to be called His. Yes, I read His word, do devotion, go to Church, and do other things like attending fellowships that would help me be like Christ.
But sometimes, I am overwhelmed by Satan – his lies and deceits seem so true and penetrate my soul.
I thank God that we have a counselor – the Holy Spirit – who is by our side at all times. Always ready to rescue us when we are attacked by Satan, and reminding us that Jesus Christ loves us so much that he died for our past, present and future sins.
Though I have sinned more than a thousand times and will continue to sin, The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in love. I am always caught by his grace. God did not give His gift of Grace just to me, but to all of us.
Ever since the beginning, from Adam, to John the Baptist, and to this very day, this gift is ready for those who are willing to accept it.
Gift of Grace
We can never understand why God shower us with this extravagant kind of gift. From infancy, it is rooted in our minds that in order for us to earn something, we must work hard for it.
That is why not all of us can accept this truth. In our society, we live in a merit-based system. You study hard, be on top of the class, then you will have a high paying job. When you have a high paying job, you will get a chance to save big and do business. When you now have your dream business, in order for it to grow and be successful, you invest your time and energy fully.
In the Bible, Noah found grace not because he was more righteous than the others; it was through God’s unmerited favor that he and his family were saved from the flood.
Paul, a persecutor of those who believed in Christ, found and received God’s grace. No matter who we are, and no matter how immense our wrongdoing, there is no sin too great for God’s grace.
As God’s word says, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
The Lord’s love for us is immeasurable. From the creation of this world until its very end, His love never changes. God never changes.
Only have to unwrap it
To receive God’s gift of grace, all we have to do is to unwrap it. It is already given; we don’t have to do anything for it to be given to us. But sad to say, some churches believe that grace is not free – it should be earned. You have to add works for what Christ did on the cross in order for us to go to heaven.
For them, being good and making lots and lots of prayer will give you a passport to Heaven. This teaching is wrong. According to the Bible, Christ came here on Earth full of grace and truth. It is through Christ that we were freed from the bondage of sin. The law given to Moses lets us see how great a sinner we all are, and how much we needed a savior. Jesus could have condemned and judged us, but he chose to be crucified on the cross to save us all.
Unwrapping God’s gift of grace means we have to confess that we are sinners. We must believe that Jesus Christ died for all our sins, and accept Him as our Lord and personal savior. Once we have done this, our old self will have gone, and a new self has come. This is how God’s grace works. It saves, then transforms us to be Christ-like: a person who loves unconditionally; a person who is zealous for good deeds; a person who lives to please the father in heaven, and a person you can always rely on in times of need.
Will you choose to receive God’s grace? I did, and I have received it. As Philip Yancey said, “Grace is a gift that costs everything for the giver and nothing for the recipient.” I can also say that grace is more than what I deserve, and is better than what I have ever imagined.
For a person like me, who have opened and experienced God’s gift, I can confidently say that you will never regret it if you do so. Even if you failed Him time and time again, know that He will never fail you.
When you encounter problems, when you believe, for a time, that Satan’s lies and deceits are true, when you experience turmoil in life, God will pull you through it all. He will never give you problems that you can’t handle. Rest assured that He will help you, just like what he did for me.
Ever since I was young, I struggled to be loved. I always feel that I have to be good and obedient so that those I love will love me more. It reached a point that I was so tired, I felt so exhausted because nothing happened.
But thank God, during that moment I realized his abounding love for me. He told me that I don’t have to do anything and be someone I’m not, because He first loved me. It was a life-changing moment, for a Lord of lords and King of kings to love me unconditionally is more than what I could ask for.
Since then my life was never the same. Experiencing God and having a relationship with Him is all we will ever need and want. So choose God today, and you will never be the same again. You will know how splendid it is to have God in your life.
God has a lot in store for us – not just His gift of grace. Jesus himself is knocking at our door, waiting for us to let him in. Let us all be reminded once again of this memory verse in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”[:]