Thursday-Not Just Some Grace

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:10,11

Let’s face it, I’m selfish. When I want something, I don’t just want some of it. I want it all. If having just a part of it is good, then having more is better. And if I’m blessed enough to have it all, then it’s just over the top better. If I’ve got it all, then there’s nothing more to get.

Take pizza for example. When I look at the pie, I’m not just looking at it, I’m trying to figure out which piece is the best. And in my view of the pizza world, there are three very important things to look for when choosing a piece of pizza.

1. Which piece is the biggest piece.

2. Which piece has more of the “good stuff” I want.

3. Which piece has less of the “bad stuff” I don’t want.

If it’s a meat-lovers pizza, I want more sausage. Pepperoni is OK, but for my money, sausage is the best. If it has vegetables, I want as many onions as possible, and I really don’t want any olives. If I must eat a piece of pizza that has an olive or two on it, I’ll carefully pick them off and give them to someone more worthy.

When it comes to fried chicken though, the overall size of the piece isn’t as important as it is with pizza. As I look through all the pieces of fried chicken in front of me, the one and only thing that I’m looking for is skin. I really, really, really like chicken skin. I’ll sacrifice eating the meat for that crunchy deliciousness of fried chicken skin. And yes, my cholesterol and saturated fatty acid levels are low.

Now you’re thinking that I’m more than just a little bit weird. And you’d be right. But if I had the privilege of sitting down with you for just a few minutes, I bet we’d discover something that you’re just as fanatical about. There are certain things, special people that we want more than anything else.

Would it surprise you to know that God has his favorites too? If you’re like me, we think that his favorites are somebody else. Anybody else. And yet, he’s made choices when it comes to you and me. I hope you’re sitting down because this might just change the way you think about God

God has decided not to just give us some of his grace, but all of it. When it comes to how he thinks about us, how he loves us, he goes out of his way and goes all out. He goes all in over you and me. If you don’t think I’m telling the truth, look at what Peter says. He’s not the God of some grace, but of all grace.

So, what do you think about this word: grace? What does it mean? It sounds like one of those things that everyone believes in but no one can agree on what it is. How can we describe this word in a way that makes sense? In a world that seems to deny God and everything about him, how can we put some real life thinking around this word called grace?

Think about God’s grace this way. Grace is where God is the one who first reached out and is still reaching out to us. And why? Because he made us and wants to show that we’re his favorite. That he approves of us. Grace is where God gives us what we don’t deserve.

When you think about your children or grandchildren, you always want to reach out to them ahead of everyone else. They are your favorites. No matter what, you’ll always prefer them. You’ll run to take them back[1]. We never give up on them. This is the definition of God’s grace.

• How God thinks about us.

• How God feels about us.

• How God speaks to us.

• How God acts towards us.

As this unbelievable truth begins to sink in, it can’t help but begin to change us. God is our loving Heavenly Father. Our Abba, daddy[2]. He alone is the one and only Father of compassion and the God of all comfort[3]. He is there to help us no matter the time. No matter the trouble.

One of the important truths is that God keeps his promises. We are his and he is ours. And nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord[4]. He will never leave you or forsake you[5].

Just think about this for a minute. This isn’t just some grace, it’s total grace. It’s over the top grace. It’s grace on top of grace. It’s the Mount Everest of grace. It’s the kind of grace that has no beginning and has no end. It’s the kind of grace that can heal a broken heart. It’s exactly the kind of grace that we’ve hoped for but were afraid to believe in. It’s the grace that only comes from Jesus. Now that’s some kind of grace.

Noodling Questions

• How does disappointment and hurt pull us away from God’s grace?

• Why is it so hard to believe in this kind of grace?

• How could this kind of grace change your life? Explain.

[1] Luke 15:20

[2] Romans 8:15

[3] 2 Corinthians 1:3

[4] Romans 8:39

[5] Hebrews 13:5