Monday, January 6, 2025

           In Romans 11, Paul wrote about God’s work among Gentiles and Israel.  Though much of Israel rejected Christ and the reconciling work that God was doing in Christ, there was and is a remnant of Israel that has embraced Jesus as the Messiah.  God’s choice to save, whether Gentiles or Israel, is an act of grace.  Paul wrote, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5).  We have neither earned nor deserved the favor of God.   Salvation is by grace.  And God has chosen to love us by grace—not based on anything we have done or refrained from doing.  If God’s love and actions were motivated by our choices and behavior, then His love would be conditional rather than based upon His grace.  Paul wrote, “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6). 
            If we trust God’s grace as the means of our salvation and as powerful and effective enough to save us from sin’s penalty and snare over us, then we can trust His grace to be sufficient for the various circumstances of life that we will face and encounter each day.  Paul knew that God’s grace was sufficient for him (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 for a further and deeper look).  This sufficient grace did not change the circumstances that Paul faced but grace did change the apostle in the face of such circumstances.  You may have a testimony or time where the grace of God was sufficient for you too.  We can easily lose sight of grace and its power and sufficiency.  We can easily credit ourselves for life’s successes and victories rather than looking to the Lord as the One who has supplied them to us. 
            Paul gave a powerful reminder about God’s grace in Romans 11:35 when he quoted Job 41:11. He wrote, “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” Grace can never be paid back to God.  It is priceless.  And if we could repay God, then the blessings we enjoy would not be grace.  Even God’s patience with us (and with all humanity) can be seen as an expression of grace.  This patience and restraint from judgment allows individuals to respond to His grace.  Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). 
            As you conclude the first week of this new year and soon begin the second one, embrace God’s sufficient and providing grace.  Look for the places in your life where He has astoundingly blessed and provided for you.  Think of the great price that was paid for your salvation so you can give thanks for this unearned and undeserved granting of grace.  Again, if we trust grace to save us from sin then we can surely trust grace to sustain us in the face of life’s trials and testing.  “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever!  Amen.” (Romans 11:36).  Even those who have not embraced or responded to God’s saving grace experience His common grace—the everyday blessings and gifts of life that come to all.  If you have not embraced His saving grace, perhaps seeing His everyday common grace opens your eyes and mind to see what He has done for you and offers to you.
            We can celebrate grace today.  It is free, faithful and effective to all who receive it.  We can celebrate God’s willingness to love us and to shower us with His grace when neither love nor grace has been earned.  We can celebrate God’s kindness and mercy toward us.  We can seize the opportunity afforded to us by these early days of January to orient ourselves toward Him for the balance of this year.  May we seek Him and experience the depth of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge (Romans 11:33).  Have a great Monday!