2 Corinthians 6:1 “As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”
How could we forget to access something so powerful? Why do we struggle far longer than we need to? Where did we get the idea that our need for grace stopped at the cross?
Grace.
In the NIV version of the Bible, Paul urges believers not to receive God’s grace in vain. Other translations say, beg, appeal, beseech, entreat, plead. It makes me think missing the grace of God looms as a real possibility for even mature Christians.
God gives us grace because he wants us to use it. A friend compared it to giving his son a new bicycle. He said, “I hope he wears it out to the point I have to get him another one.” The last thing this dad desired was for his boy to keep his bike safely locked up in the garage, used only for special occasions. It pleased him to see his gift being put to use.
I think it pleases God in the same way when we call on his grace to help us in our time of need. I was recently confronted with a situation where I’d let my expectations move past reality. Disappointment landed with a giant thud. I experienced frustration, guilt and plain down sadness. The more I mulled over it, the worse it became. I had overlooked what Paul urged me not to forget.
Grace.
Because of grace, I didn’t have to stay stuck in the quicksand. Access to God’s grace provided a way of escape. I could forgive. I could repent. I could look beyond the disappointment. God’s grace takes us further than we could ever take ourselves. If we let it.
It is far too easy for us to move from divine dependence on God to our own self-efforts. When trouble comes we default to how we can resolve it. We don’t remember there’s a Grand Canyon of help awaiting us. There is no dilemma we face his grace can’t reach.
So friend, I hope you’re better at accessing the grace of God than I sometimes am. I urge, beg, beseech, and entreat you not to miss it. Let’s get on those bicycles and ride, ride, ride.