Grace Upon Grace
We had certainly not set out with the plan to continually offer grace
Reference: ““But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.” Luke 15:22 NIV
Explore: My husband, Cam, recently caught up with an old friend. Pastor Rob Buckingham leads a great church in the southern suburbs of Melbourne and has known Cam for many years now.
As they got talking and catching up on the last few years of news, Cam explained that they now had something in common: they were both grandfathers. With Cam in his early forties Pastor Rob asked how that was so.
Cam explained that we had brought a foster daughter into our family when she was 13. At 19 she had fallen pregnant and we are now the primary carers of her son – our grandson.
While Cam always enjoys calling himself a grandfather for a bit of a laugh, Pastor Rob looked him straight in the eye and said, “Well, isn’t that grace upon grace.”
Application: On our fostering journery we had certainly not set out with the plan to continually offer grace, but we have been confronted with the decision as to whether we would offer grace or not on many occasions.
Grace is a beautiful word. It is an expression of God’s love for us and is even used as a lovely girl’s name. But when we have the opportunity to show grace it is usually far from soft and rosy.
Grace means someone has wronged you and you suffer the sacrifice and the heartache.
God gave us an incredible example of that in the Prodigal Son parable. A son who was so disrespectful to his father is offered love and grace upon his return.
Grace is from God. No matter how painful it may be, whenever you see an act of grace you can see God’s love and character prevail.
Prayer: Lord, Your grace has no bounds. You continue to offer grace upon grace upon grace. Thank You for Your continual love and sacrifice. May we never take it for granted. Amen.
When have you seen grace?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.