Grace Notes

"The Grace of God and the Love of God are nearly synonymous. The Grace of God is the Love of God in action, coupled with His power, forgiving our sins, transforming our lives, nurturing us in the new life, guiding us in His service, and preserving us for Eternity.

Salvation begins with God's Grace and continues with a constant unfolding of the Grace, until He makes us His new work of art; a new creation in Christ."

These paragraphs are taken directly from the study notes in my personal Bible. Normally the notes provided are notoriously useless. Nine times out of ten if you read a difficult passage and glance down at the study notes to learn more about what the text means you'll be very disappointed.

Usually the notes will just completely ignore the passage and only talk about the verses above and below the one you're curious about. [Maybe that's why it's been such a great study Bible? I've never had the answers I needed so I've always had to search elsewhere to understand what the scriptures were saying.]

So, you can imagine my surprise when I glanced down at the notes one morning and read the passage above in my Bible. It was beyond amazing, really.

That's why I wrote it down and made a point to share it here on my blog.

My favorite part is the end where it says that God's Grace continues to unfold "...until He makes us His new work of art..."

Wow. So beautiful.

I also love the point about how the Love of God and the Grace of God are synonymous, and how God's Grace does more than simply save us. Yes, we are all "saved by Grace" but after that the work of Grace continues to lead us and to teach us and to empower us to put the words of Christ into action in our daily life.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…” [Titus 2:11-12]

We all come into the faith by God's Grace, but we also continue forward in the power of His Grace which enables us to walk in the Spirit and to put His Words into practice.

Grace does more than save us and leave us alone. God's Grace is what makes it possible for us to love like Jesus - and to live as He did - here and now.