"Grace"

God knows all the reasons,

And all the things we feel,

Knows how much we’re wounded,

And what we need to heal.

And in our hearts we know it,

But it helps us to be told,

Can’t hear it too often,

It never does get old.

And that is Jesus loves you,

And know all you go through,

And, honey, there is nothing,

That you could ever do,

To make His love get bigger,

Or stronger ‘cause you try,

To make your own self worthy,

And here’s the reason why,

His love is based on something else,

Besides how we perform,

But rather on how good He is,

And that is our new norm.

And if you ever doubt it,

And of course we do,

We need a good reminder,

That His grace is always true.

To accept that you’re accepted,

To know by grace His smile,

It can heal what ails you,

And after just awhile,

You’ll find that life gets better,

You give His grace away,

And resting in His presence,

You find His peace each day.

It’s what our world is needin’,

And not a churchy judge,

But those who speak the truth in love,

And from grace never budge.

“God saved you by His grace when you believed…” (Eph. 2:8, NLT)

Grace is everything when it comes to knowing God. It’s simple definition is “undeserved favor.” If God’s love is based on anything else, it is unpredictable and ultimately untrustworthy. But the best news of all is that His love is based on His choice of us, and not on anything we have done or left undone. Do you suffer from “performance based acceptance.” If you do, it’s probably because the only way you could get human affirmation was by living up to someone’s expectation. Trouble with that is if it carries over into our relationship with God, we find ourselves struggling to earn what can only be given to us. Grace is also the greatest gift we can give another, once we receive it from God. Grace heals and liberates. It’s the greatest force in heaven and on earth. Get some. Give some.

Lord, help us freely receive and give Your grace, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Anton, billantonstudio.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bill, and God bless you.