Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Charles Spurgeon said, “It is only through the sacred alchemy of grace that tribulation works patience.”
Only grace can change a heart to contain the courage to go through the tribulations of life and to praise God at the same time. Only grace can uphold the righteousness that was given to us through the blood sacrifice that Jesus gave us upon the torturous cross. Why does God use grace to save our eternal beings? Because grace is the Lord’s gift, and there is no room for our self-righteousness to manipulate His favour in any way. We cannot turn God’s gift of grace into a man-made event. Grace can change what it touches because God is full of the grace that every heart needs to be right with God and have the right to stand before Him. God’s grace brings us into His presence with peace and assurance of our salvation. John 1:16 From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
Grace can vivify one’s understanding of God’s love that He has lavished upon us, rather than leave one trusting in their self-righteous works, which will only palliate the symptoms of being eternally lost. Grace gives us the courage to extend and stretch our faith into areas that seem impossible. The Lord’s grace permits us to be daring in our faith, as demonstrated by Peter when he stepped out onto the stormy waters that were all around him. Matt. 14:28 And Peter, answering, said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You upon the waters.” We too can, with God’s grace, step out onto the stormy waters of life. As the French author André Gide said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Grace give us God’s courage to walk with Him in all areas of faith and life, while inspiring a desire for eternal existence with our Saviour Jesus.
Isn’t it amazing how the grace of the Lord had opened the flow of miracles for the people in Iconium? Paul and Barnabas ministered the Word of grace, and the results were signs and wonders through the miracles God allowed to confirm the ministry Paul and Barnabas were conducting. Acts 14:3 So Paul and Barnabas stayed for a long time, speaking boldly and confidently for the Lord, who continued to testify to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders attesting miracles be done by them. Grace had worked its alchemy by changing the misery of the people into the gift of God’s blessing for anyone who accepted God’s love by faith.
If we were to extend more of God’s grace towards others, the Lord would bring the blessings of His mercy to the situations mankind lives with. How did the shadow of the Apostle Peter heal people? Acts 5:15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 14 Now the multitude from the cities surrounding Jerusalem also were coming together, bringing the sick and those being tormented by unclean spirits, who were all healed. God’s grace enabled the Apostles to minister in miracles that healed the sick, the lame, and those possessed by demons. We have been given the same grace and are saved by the same Lord who gives grace to the humble. Do the shadows of our grace-filled life heal, or does our presence chase away because there is no grace emanating from our hearts?
The irony of a grace-filled life truly makes one think about the fact that the majority of people are reading and studying self-help books and essays on how to change their character for the better. If these same people were gracious towards one another, they would live in an atmosphere of God’s perpetual favour because signs and wonders would follow their lives. Jesus was full of grace and truth. John 1:14b And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus was invited to come into the homes of tax collectors, priests, lepers, and sinners regularly. Jesus was meek, not weak. Jesus was full of grace, and wherever He went, that grace went with Him and before Him, no matter the circumstance.
It is the love of God that draws people to repentance. The grace of God is alive and active among mankind; however, man needs to respond with gratitude and awareness that God’s grace is the only avenue that brings us into the eternal, righteous presence of our heavenly Father. This is why grace changes hearts, as Charles Spurgeon perceived it, actively transforming a person’s life through its alchemy. The born-again experience is a living action that does not stop. We were saved by grace, we are being saved by grace, and we will be saved by God’s grace only. This is the grace that makes us the sons and daughters of the Lord. 1John 3:1a Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! It truly is amazing grace; therefore, put it on and wear it so that there is no doubt that you belong to the Lord.
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