Once I met a friend for lunch and when the server asked if the bill would all be on one check, my friend pointed to me and jokingly said, “Only if she’s paying!” Now that’s someone who knows how to receive a gift!
Sometimes we have a hard time just receiving a gift. We say things like, “Awe! I really don’t deserve it. You shouldn’t have. Here is some money; let me pay for it….” If we deserve it, then it’s a reward. If we pay for it, then it’s no longer a gift.
Have we responded that way to God? God has offered us the abundance of His grace and the gift of His righteousness, and we insult Him if we try to pay or tell Him we don’t deserve it. The gift of being acceptable to God was free to us, but it cost God His Son! The most gratifying response to the Giver is to reach out our hands, take the gift as our own possession, and just say thank you.
Some people are afraid of “too much grace.” How can there be too much? God wants us to receive superabounding grace. A friend shared with me that she heard a pastor warn his congregation not to slip into a “dangerous trance of grace.” He likened grace to a hot tub that you get in because you need comfort for your aching muscles, but if you stay in there too long, you’ll get light headed and drown!
We need to unwrap the gift of righteousness and superabounding grace and enjoy! Especially when we fail. Say, “Father, I thank You that I am still the righteousness of God in Christ.” I say it daily! It shuts the mouth of the roaring lion, satan, and it keeps me focused on Jesus. It keeps me in a state of gratefulness, just like the woman with the alabaster box. The more I declare my righteousness before God, the more in love with Jesus I am! Even still to this day — years after my encounter with Jesus on the beach and the opening of my eyes to grace — I still weep daily over His amazing grace. I will never get over it!
When we continue to believe we are righteous before God when we fail, it’s repentance: changing our minds from focusing on our failure to acknowledgement of Jesus’ perfect work on our behalf. The result? We will be so grateful, and peace will spring forth in our hearts. When we live in thanksgiving for the free gift of righteousness, we will be in forward motion, reigning in life.
If God is for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8:31)1
No one. Not even yourself.
Believer, it’s never too late! No matter how much we have failed, no matter how many people we have hurt because of our sin, no matter what condition our lives are in because of bad decisions, we can still receive the free gift of the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness!
(from pages 118-119 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
