But by the grace of God I am what I am

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. 

Like a river, God’s grace is constantly flowing.   It flows from heaven into our hearts, and smooths out the sharp edges over time.   It’s the same grace that flowed into Paul’s heart when he saw the Lord on the road to Damascus.   Paul responded to this grace, and he discovered that it was not “ineffective”.   Once a persecutor of Christians, he became a believer who traveled the world building up the very Church he once tried to destroy.

Our story may not be exactly as dramatic as St. Paul’s, but in many ways it is no different.   We too have received God’s grace, and this grace has not been ineffective: we have believed and decided to follow Jesus.

So how do we respond to this constant flow of God’s grace?   In his classic book The Cost of Discipleship, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer talked about the difference between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.”   Cheap grace, he said, “is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”   Costly grace, on the other hand, “confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus.”

We can “cheapen” our experience of grace by failing to respond to its flow in our lives.   Every day we face numerous situations in which we can call on God’s grace or try to move on without it.   For example, you may be tempted to nurture resentment or bitterness over something someone said or did.   You can ask God for the grace to forgive.   You may want to lose patience with one of your children who is acting out of line.   You can stop for a moment, and call on God’s grace so that you can deal with the issue calmly.

No matter how difficult your situation may be, God’s grace is always available to you.   It is continually flowing, like a rushing, refreshing river.   Step into that river today.   Let its waters flow over you and in you and through you.   This grace is not ineffective in the least—not if you embrace it and treasure it.

Word Among Us