By His Grace: Giving Up the Grind and Embracing God's Grace This EasterSample

Day 4 Grace doesn’t “just” save you from death; it is effective in the here and now. I am a children’s ministry director and one of the themes that every curriculum nails into our children’s conscience is that Jesus is the source of eternal life. Being a Christian means you are saved from death and damnation by Jesus’ grace. That is true, and that is good news! But, because death is not the primary concern that governs many of our daily lives, this good news can feel irrelevant. That is not because Jesus’ grace is actually irrelevant but because many of us have been trained to focus on only one aspect of Jesus’ grace--grace as it relates to death. The fact that Jesus offers you grace means that when your physical body dies, you will be resurrected in heaven. But it means more than that. Jesus’ grace means that Jesus is praying for you, walking alongside you, and working out unique purposes in your life here and now, on this side of heaven. As you read through the gospels, you may notice that Jesus’ great acts of grace--healing, forgiving, and redeeming the undeserving are not the pinnacle of his followers’ stories. Jesus’ grace is the beginning, not the climax, of healed and purposeful lives. Read Luke 5:12-26. In this chapter, Jesus shows grace to a leper and a paralytic. In his grace, Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic, and he also extends his grace to heal both of these people of their diseases and disabilities. Jesus then uses both healings to minister to a specific group of people. He instructs the leper to show himself to the priests as a testimony to them, and he reveals that he healed the paralytic to be a testimony to the Pharisees. Jesus’ grace included forgiveness of sins and, therefore, participation in eternal life, but it also involved transforming the daily reality of people’s lives for the better and giving them a personal purpose. Similarly, when Jesus offered grace to Peter and Paul, their joy was in their future hope and their present reality. Paul said that when he was saved, his old self died, and he became a new man, effective immediately! Receiving Jesus’ grace allows us to access and work in partnership with him in a new and fulfilling way every day. Jesus does not only save us from death; he delivers us into abundant life that begins now. Reflection Read Luke 5:12-26 slowly and carefully. Reflect on what you have read, and consider the following questions: 1\. Have you ever struggled with purposelessness? Are you struggling with this right now? Are you searching for your purpose according to Jesus' guidance or elsewhere? How can you more fully embrace the general, biblical purposes of evangelism, encouragement, loving God, and loving others? 2\. What do you think the world would look like right now if every Christ-follower fully leaned into Christ's calling? How would that effect your community or your neighborhood? What would it look like to see God's kingdom unfolding on earth? How can you participate in that vision? Response Pray, and tell God about what you have learned from this Bible passage. Ask God to illuminate anything that you are having trouble grasping. Consider what you have learned about who God is, and use what you have learned to direct your worship.