Grace Removes Every Excuse

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“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a complete sacrifice in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.” —Romans 3:23–25

My friend, you are valuable to God. God has been thinking about you before the foundations of the world. He was planning for history past to roll out the red carpet for all that you would become.

But there was a gargantuan problem. There was an insurmountable, uncrossable gap.

You are the crowning achievement of all that He had created, but sin and darkness had stolen you. The cost was great, but God the Father was willing to pay it.

The Father was willing to pay anything at all to cross that uncrossable gap and hold you in His arms once again.

God knew silver and gold were not enough to buy you back. Therefore, God—the Creator of the universe—set the price for your life.

He bought you back with blood. He paid the debt in rich, dark red blood. The blood didn’t come from an animal donor. The blood used as collateral was not derived from a dove, or a sheep, or from a ram.

The blood God used in the greatest transaction of all eternity came from a Lamb. The blood that bought you back was spilled from the only Lamb with the power to do it. The blood came from Jesus, the Son of God.

That’s grace.

Not only did grace buy you back, but grace has also changed your past.

Grace passed over every sin I have ever committed. I now can live life just as if I have never sinned. My past is gone. My sins are eternally erased because of Jesus.

There is only grace. Blood and grace. Are you undone yet?

“My sin—oh, the bliss! —of this glorious thought!

My sin, not the part, but the whole,

Was nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more;

It is well! It is well with my soul!”

And the wonder of it all—almost too beautiful to speak—is this: grace now treats us like we already are what we fear we would never become.

Because I have received grace, I now must give grace.

Because I have been the beneficiary, I now must benefit others.

Because of Jesus, I must exhibit Jesus to others.

I must cross the chasm of frustration, bitterness, and anger while moving toward sinful and difficult people with grace.

Grace has removed all excuses. If I have been given grace, then I must offer it.

The power of grace changes my past, my present, and my future. The work of grace in me reaches out to you.

Grace. It truly is too beautiful for words.

Questions for Reflection:

1. How would you describe grace? Is there a Scripture that helps you to understand grace?

2. To whom do you need to give grace?