Grandest and Most Under-Appreciated Word/Thought/Reality in the Bible

Words are much like names – they can represent so much more than the facade and veneer of the few letters making them up. And, obviously, words can and do have dramatically different and more compelling purposes and “back stories.” Some words are small and limited while others are large, great and grand.

A good way to look at and better understand the Bible, then, might be by considering its greatest word/thought/reality. For if we look at or in the wrong direction or place we cannot expect to find the right and true answer to unlock the Bible’s great potentials and blessings.

Many people, when they consider the Bible, think “law” – rules, dos, don’t . . . and this is not wrong. Law is a big theme of the Bible. We are told, as an indication of the importance of the law, that Moses brought the law. But the law is far from the key to the Bible. So what word or term then is the grandest, biggest and most compelling word in the Bible? A good hint and clue is that the only word that, if you take any verse with “Jesus” in it, this word could easily and rightly replace Jesus and, likewise, if you have a verse with this term, “Jesus” could appropriately substitute for it – that surely makes this a great, grand and very big Bible word since Jesus is the Great Theme and Refrain of the entire Bible!

When we are introduced to Jesus in the Bible we are told He brought two things to/for us. Truth, the second, is necessary to accept the first, greatest and real purpose (from our perspective and benefit) of His coming and being. The first and greatest word represents, in a sense, our connection with God the Father, Jesus and The Holy Spirit. Thus, we can appropriately say that the Grandest Word/Thought/Reality in the Bible is certainly Grace! In the same way, it is fair to say that the more we know (through experience) Grace the more we know Christ and conversely we should not consider we know Him to any greater extent than we are seeking, finding and living in and by His Grace and truth.

Interestingly, we find no definition of Grace in the Bible. And this is surely the case, because no short (or even long) description could be expected to be comprehensive enough to do it justice – Grace simply is too large to warrant the menial, yet most commonly used, definition as “the unmerited favor of a God.” This is like describing Niagara Falls as a “steam of water,” fair to the extent that it is true, but clearly not a full depiction or much help in conveying its full meaning (and, likely, because it is so diminutive and underwhelming, it can be misleading). And like Niagara Falls, Grace can only be truly appreciated, not at a distance or in pictures, but by being next to or in it so you can feel its power.

Grace is a huge “umbrella” word. When we consider Grace we need to understand it carries with it the inclusiveness of love, mercy, it has real power, not mere words or feelings. Grace is a full, not limited or stingy, giving. It is abundant, more than we can think or imagine. Grace is restricted only to the extent that the ones receiving it are able to benefit from the gift, a little example being that a child may be given an ice cream cone as an appropriate gift, but a gallon of ice cream would be anything but Grace. In much the same way, adults are greatly blessed with the gift of their “daily bread” while possibly being cursed with more than this, even though, if given their choice, they would (and generally do) consider more than they can handle as Grace; like the young child may want the full gallon of ice cream not knowing how sick they would be if their wish were fulfilled.

Grace, is timely and appropriate, looking to the real, not supposed or superficial, needs. Grace is always accompanied by kindness, patience, without any self-interest on the part of the giver. Grace brings with it intangible blessings of comfort, joy, peace . . . As a result, these great aspects and attributes of Grace are part of a fair and full description of Grace. As are Grace’s inevitable encouragements (the imparting of courage) and the gift of rest as Grace gives us what we otherwise would have had to work for or do without. Grace is the miracle that, when suffering and in pain, provides comfort so that this consolation is greater than the pain and suffering!

Grace seen and observed is the proverbial tip of the iceberg, one of many “installments” in a succession of giving and blessing. Grace provides blessing and joy to both the receiver and giver with, as one further intention, to make its’ receivers givers, conduits so that an initial gift can lead to a “chain” of giving, demonstrating the reality of the great truth that “it is more blessed to give than receive.”

In some sense, Grace is the purest reflection of the Giver Himself. Grace is sacrifice for someone else, the giving of one’s self, one’s essence, for the benefit of another. Immediately prior to being told: “the law was given through Moses; Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” we are told, “From the fullness of his Grace we have all received one blessing after another.” Within the definition of Grace, then, we find it is the gift of both the “narrow gate . . . and narrow road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Anyone saved eternally is saved only by Grace – Grace is a very very big word!

To summarize – Grace is:

By Love: Salvation • Purpose • Protection • Provision – through Faith

Love is an interesting phenomenon, it causes the lover to, in a sense, “lose it.” Once God places His love on a chosen people He “loses it” for them, it compels Him to . . .
Salvation here and now (not just eternally as some people want to limit it),
Purpose – to do, yes (“we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”), but even more importantly to be and become (“Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”),
Protection and Provision – once God takes it upon Himself to save us and give us purpose, He then undertakes and assumes the obligation to both protect and provide for us to fulfill His predetermined purposes for us,
And all this is accomplished by our cooperation through Grace Faith – faith is, in essence, the acceptance of God’s offered Grace with faith, itself, “not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Faith is the beginning and end of God’s great circle of Grace.

“Well,” the religious prude will self-righteously and indignantly say, “this all sounds very selfish and self-serving to me! This sounds like our attitude to God is one of being a mercenary!” And they might be right if Jesus had not told us THREE times:

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

What is the heart and greatest joy of a child? To please their Dad! And just as “Dad” isn’t all of a man that is how his little children see him. If they think of him at work it is only abstractly - they see Dad in his role as provider, encourager, teacher . . . A really big person. And to a child, Dad and his gifts are irrevocably linked, they love him and appreciate his gifts.

It the same way, we cannot separate Jesus from Grace (what He does for us) – this is how He “appears” and relates to us. God’s material Grace is the “all things” promised as we “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Yes, we have to cooperate with Grace, not take it for granted, “do our own thing” and expect God to come to attention when we get in trouble, snap our fingers and demand he jump to our calls!

Grace requires:

Repentance – any thought that Grace is in addition to what we already have, are and do is dead wrong, Grace is everything or nothing! To hold Grace we must release what we now have and are because “those who cling to idols forfeit the Grace that could be theirs.”
Humility – seeing our desperate need, with no hope other than God’s Grace, and then accepting the offer even if it is not what we would initially prefer (which it ever seldom is), rather than stubbornly demanding what we want, when we want it!
Diligence and Discipline to protect and fully use the gifts to the complete intended possible extent. We are told: “grow in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” to “be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.”
Thankfulness for the Giver, and all the gift represents, beyond the surface benefits of the gift itself – a desire to bless the Giver in our use, growth from the gift and ultimately our learning to re-gift some of the abundant Grace we receive.

Grace is so great and grand we have to be ever careful we do not begin to look to, value and seek more and more of it apart from, and forgetting, the Giver who is not only the source of Grace, but the One who makes and keeps it alive, active, working – the One who gives it ultimate and lasting meaning. The Grace Jesus brought offers life now as well as eternally to replace the shell of a short–term and temporary facade and husk of a false life. Which is why the common thought of Grace being a “boost” to our own efforts and needs is so wrong – we are told that until we find God’s saving faith we are dead, blind and in slavery – terms not evoking thoughts of being in need of a little help now and then. We must have His Grace for life, to both begin and sustain and grow in it – every minute of every day, not now and again when it suits us and doesn’t interfere with the best the world offers.

Earning a Living

As a (just one) big example of Grace (or Grace lost), let’s look at how Grace relates to “earning a living.” Most people (even those who attend church regularly and consider themselves “good” Christians) would not see a great connection between their earning a living and Grace – they get a good education leading to a good job and pay and, in this way, earn a living. They may, in a distant and indirect way credit Grace for this, but likely not in a significant direct and daily manner. Therefore, they miss the Grace offered by Jesus, early in the book of Matthew, to give us (“give” is the shortest possible definition of Grace – not a complete description, but certainly true) “all things” we need for life – food, clothes, etc.

And this is a case showing Grace is not optional, allowing us to take or leave it. God offers this specific and special material Grace so that we can accomplish the specific and special good works He planned in advance for each true Christian (and there are NO real Christians for whom He has not prepared specific and special good works, in advance, for them to do). Jesus gave this great teaching in Matthew outlining how we must depend on Grace for “our living” if we are to have the time to do the good works He planned in advance for us to do – the first and foremost being “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

If we wait to take offered Grace until we see we need it, if we fail to exercise faith until we understand everything, we likely will never do either. Rather, God will show us a need, direct us to the related Grace to fulfill this need and the requirement to take and apply this Grace. And this process will build on itself as we exercise faith and receive and apply Grace in more and more of life.

Thus, we find Jesus shows us a big need and big Grace early in the Bible, a daily and practical need we seek to fulfill on our own, by our own strength, time and effort, or (not and!) we believe what He says and offers by Grace, as a gift. He, by this promise, tells us we can continue on our present path of self- (fulfillment, righteousness, reliance and effort) or repent to the reality of our hopelessness and helplessness without His gift of our daily bread. And as we begin grasping this truth we, assuming we continue and grow in Grace, can see and be offered Grace, in greater and greater needs now and for eternity.

Faith is a great and foundational Grace that is a necessary catalyst to future and greater faith and Grace. Faith continually and consistently requires repentance. Grace is not an option and is undoubtedly the greatest of Bible words, truths and themes. All of the above, and much more, is included in a full meaning of Grace. Only Grace, then, will open, as its key, the Bible with, all its truths and blessings!

And the entire issue with Grace is not how much is offered us (we couldn’t take up all if we tried!), but in how much of it we do take, protect, grow and use to our benefit and the benefit of others!

Free Ride/Free Pass?

Certainly the most common misunderstanding and disconnect about Grace is that it is a free gift we take and benefit from unconditionally – that the giver is active and the receiver passive beyond taking the offered gift.

Maybe using the analogy of a good, wise and rich father, and his relationship with growing children, will highlight how Grace really works. The wise and wealthy father will certainly give to his children in appropriate ways to bless them. He will give his children all the tools and support necessary and beneficial, but they must do the “digging,” they are responsible to use these gifts in positive, not negative, ways. Thus, he may give one child a great deal while giving another grown child little or nothing. Giving without discretion can do more harm than good – indiscriminate giving is not Grace, it is a curse!

There is much more we could say about this, yet the basic point and caution is obvious. But that is not to say it is fully understood. For example, there is a Grace of exercise that is offered to virtually (and needed by) all people over 50 or so, but few take it. “Grace of exercise, are you kidding me – I hate to exercise!” Yes, there is a Grace of exercise that is a great gift – this Grace gives us the capacity to see the benefits it offers, the ability to exercise (which few can do, to the really beneficial level, without Grace), the persistence to continue it (and return to it when we have “fallen off the wagon”), it shows us how to exercise and how to change our “routine” over time . . .

One of our first thoughts when we think of God’s Grace, then, is what are the conditions He places on it so that we can receive it. In other words, He will block any Grace when we try to take it in any manner that will not bless us just as the wise father may give one child a great deal of money while giving a second, irresponsible and self-destructive, child no money.

Grace, then, is not a free ride, it is a ride with a great Guide and Provider!

But How?

The above are a few positive and negative “what” (right and wrong) thoughts about Grace. But without the associated and related “hows,” all the whats in the world, however good, are of little value – and there are some key hows related to learning and improving in seeing, taking and growing in the Grace all around us.

But, of course, “Grace” is what we hear in all the voices around us on a daily basis - ads to purchase things (and borrow to do so), drugs and alcohol promise Grace to those taking or thinking about taking them, the boy plotting and planning to have sex with his girlfriend . . . “Look at this great gift offered, if only you take it how happy and much better off you will be - you can’t live without it!”

The issue, then, is how best, most reliably and consistently to hear and distinguish the voices speaking to us on a daily basis? The only way is by seeking to learn the Voice of God found most purely in the Bible followed by good preaching, Christian fellowship . . . all supported by prayer. Oh yes, we will still sometimes be mistaken and follow a deceiving and misleading voice, but we will do this less and less as we, through practice, learn to better distinguish the voices around us. And at the same time, we will find ourselves learning and improving in filtering what we allow to speak to us.

The bottom line - How? To the extent possible, consciously filter the most negative voices impacting us personally (which will be different for everyone) by replacing them with positive voices. For example, the “news” may waste our time, disturb us and lead to subsequent wasted time as we discuss it with others (all the while providing no real benefit to us or them). A simple solution is to filter these negative voices (paper, radio, TV, Internet . . .), replacing them with reading or listening to The Good News. If this were done for 30 minutes a day it would have much more benefit than a single 30 minutes could give us because we are filtering out 30 minutes of bad and absorbing 30 minutes of good!

So, Grace takes time. And properly planned for, the time devoted to Grace provides great double dividends, both in what is found and the negative that is given up!

Seek • Find • Grow In • Live By
Grace! It is Beyond Amazing!