The Grace of God – May 8, 20 2021

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us, so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
Psalm 67:1,2

The Grace of God

Everywhere on the internet, there are those fake ads where someone pretends that they have received a free phone or computer because the company has made a mistake. If you foolishly click on the link, you will always find out that it’s a scam. No company would give away valuable merchandise that you haven’t paid for, right?

But God has given away something more valuable than a phone or a computer, and you haven’t paid for it. God has given away salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life in heaven. We haven’t paid anything for these valuable gifts. In fact, we don’t deserve them, and we can’t do anything to pay for them. Instead, Jesus paid for them by shedding his innocent blood and dying for us on the cross. Because we don’t deserve the love of Jesus, we call God gracious. Because the gifts of God bring us many good things in our lives of faith, we say that he blesses us.

Why would God do that for us, especially when we don’t deserve it? Is he making a mistake?

God doesn’t make mistakes. He knows what he is doing. One of the reasons he blesses us is so that his ways might be known on earth. If people realized that there really were sweet deals on the internet, getting something valuable for nothing, they would be sharing those deals immediately with family and friends.

In the same way, when we realize the grace of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, we find ways to post it and tell it and pass it on—across the street, across the internet, and across the world.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal – 249)
God of mercy, God of grace, show the brightness of your face. Shine upon us, Savior, shine; fill your Church with light divine, and your saving health extend to the earth’s remotest end. Amen.