Amazing Grace

By Paul Chappell

"For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

1 Corinthians 15:9–10

I’ve often heard people describe grace as “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” A. W. Tozer put it this way: “Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving. Its use to us sinful men is to save us and make us sit together in heavenly places to demonstrate to the ages the exceeding riches of God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

We should not need to be reminded that everything good that we have or do is a direct result of the grace of God. Yet our pride constantly tempts us to take the credit that rightly belongs to God. We would probably never say out loud what Nebuchadnezzar did: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). But too often we look at our accomplishments and achievements as if they were solely the result of our effort and intelligence.

The thing that makes God’s grace so amazing is that it is both completely undeserved and completely free. His grace is given to us because of His great love for us. Rather than focusing our attention on ourselves, the grace we receive should cause us to glorify and praise Him. The realization that it is only because of grace that he was anything at all made it possible for Paul to recognize that the great things he accomplished for God were not because of his efforts in his own strength but because of God’s grace.

Today's Rooted Principle:

Give thanks to God today for all that you do and have, for it is only because of His grace.