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The Story of Grace

    Once upon a time there was a good God who created a good man and gave him authority over that he had created.  However, an evil being tempted the man to do that which was evil and the man gave up his authority to do good by doing that which was evil.  When the man did this, he died on the inside and became a slave to evil.  In fact, he was even blinded by the evil being so that could no longer discern between the good and the evil.

    The good God desired both a relationship and a fellowship with the man, but because the man had died on the inside, he could no longer have a relationship with the good God.  The evil man no longer deserved to continue to exist, but the good God gave him MERCY allowing him continue to exist anyway.  The good God also GRACIOUSLY gave to the man a book of written laws that man might know the difference between good and evil.  However, the man, even with the book of laws and the knowledge of what was right, found that he was unable to keep the laws.  Again, the good God, reached out to the man with GRACE to come Himself in the form of a man and take man's punishment for evil upon Himself that he might offer to the man the power to become a new person on the inside and be set free of evil if he would only believe.

   However, the new man was still free to try live by his own ABILITY.  If this happened, the new man would fall flat on his face and do evil just as he had before he received the GRACE to become a new man.  If he did this, he wouldn't cease being a new man, with the promise that one day he would live with the good God in Heaven, but he would fail to receive all the other additional blessings of GRACE that the good God would offer to him.

    Therefore, the good God also came to show the new man how to live by the GRACIOUS ability that he could receive from the the good God.  You see, the good God not only wanted to make the man, a new creation on the inside, he wanted to enable the man to live a good life, so that he could receive the GRACE of  fellowship with the good God and also the GRACE of  blessings of righteousness, peace, joy, rest, healing, prosperity, and success.


    Generally, grace is finding favor in the eyes of God.  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"  (John 3:16).  Grace also is the gift of the new life in Christ.   "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

    However, we don't have the GRACE of God to do every good thing that we may want to do.  Even as Christians, we may try to live outside God's will and God's power, not realizing that God may even remove His GRACE of protection from us. We end up failing, frustrated, exhausted, and even sick.   Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"  (Matthew 11:28-30).  We only have Grace to do what God directs us to do.

    Paul wrote, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it"  (I Corinthians 10:13).  God will NEVER EVER ask us to do anything that He doesn't give us the GRACE to do!

   Paul also said, "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me"  (I Corinthians 15:10).  Grace is not only the gift of God to be a child of God, it also the ABILITY to live as a child of God.   Paul said, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure"  (Philippians 2:13).  We are not made to live by our own will or our own power, but are to surrender our will to His will in us and by faith live by His power, then the Christian life become EASY.


     "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me"  (Galatians 2:20).
GRACE