Grace

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of His power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, Who created all things." -Ephesians 3:7-9

How we view God's grace plays a monumental role in what our churches look like and how they function. Whether we realize it or not, we have an ingrained idea of what grace means for us and what its purpose is. Most of us would agree that grace is an undeserved gift from God that we receive because of the blood of Christ and our faith in Him. From there, the paths diverge greatly and they impact how we see the church.

The first way of viewing grace is seeing it simply as a gift of God that we receive and hold onto. When we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we receive salvation (Romans 10:9). This is all good and true but the first view of grace ends there. When we see grace as something we receive, it becomes about us. We see ourselves as the recipient of a fantastic gift, which we hang onto. Church is then a place to hang out with other people who received the gift where we praise God that we're going to heaven someday and it ends there. Grace and God's gifts are simply for us to enjoy and feel good about.

The second way of viewing grace is, as Paul says, something we receive and then pass onto others. Paul says that God's grace was given to Him but it doesn't end there. The grace he received is for someone else. It comes with direction and purpose. Why did Paul receive grace from God? To preach to the Gentiles and to make known the mysteries of God which are revealed in Christ. The astonishing truth is that God's grace was not just for Paul, it was for Paul to pass along to those he was ministering to. The grace of God cannot be contained because it comes from the overflow of Who God is. God's grace is so wide and deep and long that we could never use it up or ask too much of Him (Ephesians 3:20) It is not meant to be hoarded. Grace is given to us so that we might give it to others.

When we see grace as simply a gift for us, we become self-focused. We gladly receive God's grace, then are unwilling to extend it to others. This causes us to become resentful, judgmental, unaccepting, and secluded. We start seeing forgiveness as simply accepting an apology while continuing to harbor bitterness and anger in our hearts. We see other people as not deserving grace because of how much they've wronged us. We become the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18 who is unwilling to forgive the debt of a man who owed him a day's wages when he was forgiven a debt of 18 year's wages by his master. When we freely receive but don't freely give, the poor and needy become unimportant and this life is seen simply as a holding pattern before heaven.

But God calls us to something far bigger than ourselves. Salvation in Christ is just the starting point of receiving God's grace. He gives us His grace so that we will then share it with others. Grace means reaching out to those in need, accepting without judgment into the church those who are lost and seeking, truly forgiving without fear of being wronged again because we are eternally forgiven by God. The pouring out of grace allows us to act as a pipeline through which God achieves His purposes and blesses the world. It allows us to constantly be full of God's grace and goodness while passing it on to others.

How we view grace radically shapes our churches. Will we hoard it and turn Sunday mornings into an hour of feeling good about what we received from God while doing nothing for others? Or will we freely give it to all, gathering as a missional community of broken people who deserve nothing, yet have everything in Christ?