Grace... The Greeting: Part 7

"To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 1:7

Okay, so here's where we get to the end of the official "greeting" portion of Paul's letter. He finishes his greeting with this final blessing... "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
It's interesting because, every letter that Paul writes begins with this prayer over the church to whom He is writing. Let's look at the two parts of this profound greeting...

Grace... "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!" We are all familiar with this song. Even among the unchurched peoples of the world, this song has its place in history. However, only the believer can truly understand and appreciate this grace. Look at what Paul says in Ephesians 2. DON'T SKIP OVER THESE VERSES! You will not understand the rest of what I write, if you don't fully grasp the weight of these verses... read them closely.

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." -Ephesians 2:1-10

This verse speaks volumes about the love which God has for us! Those words... "But God"...
"But God" did what we could not... "But God" loved a people undeserving... "But God" sent His beloved Son on our behalf... "By grace you have been saved..."

You see... grace is a free gift that we do not deserve. You and I do not, cannot, deserve the grace of God. It is unmerited favor, simply because He chose to love us! Think about a parent and their child. Every parent thinks that their baby is the cutest, most adorable baby that has ever lived... Am I right? I mean, no parent says, "Wow! We sure messed up with that one!" Maybe later in life, when the child has had a chance to be a monster and make their own decisions but... well, that's way off tangent! The point is, after the birth of that child, the parent's adoration and affections are turned to their child. They love their child so much that they would give their own life for them. Why? What has that child ever done for them? Cried, made messes in their diapers, kept them awake at all hours of the night... There is no specific thing which would cause a parent to love their child... except, the simple fact that they love them. A parent loves their child because they love their child! It's as simple as that...

In the same way, God loves His children simply because He loves them! We have not, COULD NOT, ever earn His love! The point where the example, of earthly parents loving their child, falls short of mirroring God's love for us is this... Parents can become disappointed in their children and thus forsake or disown them, but those whom God has loved... He will never unlove! Does that make any sense? To the average human mind, it probably doesn't. Our love it too conditional. We change far too often in our opinions of people. But God... He loved us "even when we were dead in our transgressions..." That's the kind of love that the human heart desires most... the kind of love that keeps on loving even when we've messed up so badly that we cannot deserve whatever love we might receive!
This is the epitome of the grace which God has bestowed on our lives! His love is evidenced by the grace that we've received! It's a free gift, and it's the best thing that could ever happen to a person!

Well, I think that's enough for us to chew on for today... we'll continue this verse tomorrow!

Friends... GRACE and Peace to you! This is my prayer...

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .