Grace — Week 1 – Wednesday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 1:16-17
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (ESV)
What is it about good second-chance stories that we all love? Stories like Jean Valjean’s journey from convict to man of honor in Les Misérables. Or Andy Dufresne’s revenge against a corrupt warden and eventual escape from prison in The Shawshank Redemption. Then there’s the timeless stories of redemption we revisit every year at Christmas with Ebenezer Scrooge’s conversion in A Christmas Carol, and George Bailey’s awakening in It’s A Wonderful Life. I think there’s something about these stories that give us all hope for the future, and assurance that we don’t have to be defined by our past.
While we love stories like those. If we’re being honest, most of us would need far more than just one second chance to reconcile our past. The redemption story we probably most relate to is Groundhog Day with not just one second chance, but a third, fourth, fifth, and so on until we’re finally changed. That is, until we need yet another chance.
As a way to help His people understand their fallenness, God instituted more than six hundred laws that had to be strictly observed. It was a bar set so high that no one could consistently reach it. God’s people would fail continually, endure the consequences, then God would forgive and restore. Second chance after second chance.
I’m so grateful Jesus came and offered us so much more than a second chance. He came with grace and truth. The truth is what we need to accept in order to know our need for grace. And grace, thank heavens, is not a second chance. A second chance is about the opportunity to try again, try harder, and do better. “Grace upon grace” is complete love and forgiveness, wholly undeserved, but fully offered. And if accepted, covers our past, present, and future. The grace of Jesus is complete in every way. It is and will always be more than enough.
APPLICATION
Do you struggle with accepting grace because it’s just too good to be true? The grace of God given through Jesus does defy human logic. Receive grace the way a child would receive a gift, with wonder and joy.
PRAYER
Lord, remind me that the only one carrying scars in Heaven will be Jesus. Forgive me when my pride keeps me from truly appreciating the grace you’ve given to me through Him.
