By Judy Villanueva

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses;  grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

Grace takes its rise far back in the heart of God, in the awful and incomprehensible abyss of His holy being; but the channel through which it flows out to men is Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.(AW Tozer)

Staring down at my plate, I exhaled in defeat.  The pile of peas had won again!  I knew that unless I ate every one of them, I’d be stuck at the dining room table indefinitely.  The sun would go down and I would miss out on all the playtime left in the day.  I hate peas.  I find all other vegetables edible and some, even delicious, but peas make me gag.  Regardless, the rule in our family was to finish everything on our plate or die.  Well, that’s how it felt to a seven year old!  On one occasion, however, my dad sat down next to me and watched as I plugged my nose and attempted to swallow these horrible green little balls.  He gave me the most curious look and finally said, “Judy, if you finish this last pile of peas you will never have to eat another pea in your life.”  I couldn’t believe my ears!  I gave my dad a fierce hug, swallowed the last few bites of peas, and haven’t eaten one since!

This may seem too silly a story to use to talk about grace, something so massively beautiful.  And, I would agree except that I have a sense God’s grace, while grand and glorious, also offers healing through the sweet and small things of life, like when a dad sets his little girl free from the law of sin and peas.  Rules are generally designed to help us live within good boundaries for our physical, emotional, relational and spiritual health.  We count on Biblical statutes, in particular, to guide us toward a lifestyle and choices informed by wisdom and love.  Don’t lie.  Don’t steal.  Be nice.  But, we fail.   We fall short and suddenly find ourselves at the dining room table facing our plate of peas and our inability to keep the rules.  We all need grace, both big and small, from the cross on calvary to the daily graces we give and receive from one another.

Grace is a precious and powerful thing.  Every time we open ourselves to the grace of God we are changed by it. 

And, each time we offer a gift of grace to another, whether through forgiveness, generosity, or a kindness —  a little bit of Heaven spills out of us! 

Its beauty heals.  Grace is always free and undeserved.  The fact that it is “unmerited favor” can be difficult to accept and even more difficult to offer.  We’d rather earn our favor and extend grace only after it has been merited.  This, of course, is not grace at all and points to the fact that grace is conspicuously bigger than we are.  It requires that we turn to its author for the power to give and receive grace—

to the beautiful, generous, gigantic heart of God the Father.  

Here is the dad who sees us in our peaful predicaments and has compassion on us.  Here is our kind and loving Father who sets us free and fills us with grace for others.  He is full of grace.  Grace is who He is!  

“Thank you, Father, for your grace.  I want to be a grace giver and understand that first, I must be a grace receiver.  Open my eyes, Lord. Let grace spill out from heaven and change me.  Amen.”

What about you?

Have you felt the power of grace touch your life?

Have you received the gift of grace offered  to you at the cross?

Is the power and beauty of grace changing you?

Do you like peas?  (Sorry, just had to ask!)

Worship