Grace: Spotlight on Grace – 1 November 2022

As I contemplated this theme, the title of an old song, ‘Love is a Many-Splendoured Thing’, kept coming to mind, leading me to question if grace, like love – the subject of the song – could equally fit the title in celebrating its multi-faceted grandeur.

Looking up the lyrics, I discovered that the pretty song Paul Francis Webster wrote in the Fifties for a movie of the same name, just did not do grace – nor love – the justice I’d anticipated from the title. In a few short lines the song describes in whimsical terms thoughts about love that don’t come near to the depth, or genuineness, of love’s true meaning, and probably distorts the general understanding of love for people subconsciously influenced by such songs.

Not so grace. Grace, like love, has its roots in God and is a quality intrinsic to love. Because it is evidence of love at its noblest and richest, grace can never be superficial; it either comes out of fullness, bringing abundant blessing, as the verse today states, or it isn’t grace.

As we shine the spotlight onto the different facets of grace this month, we celebrate the rich, indispensable blessing it brings to each aspect of life. Fullness, blessing, generosity, kindness; grace, and more grace describe God’s manner of giving. In his goodness He wholeheartedly showers love, provision and care on his creation each day of life on planet earth, while we increasingly discover the countless ways that His grace is an incredible treasure in this life.

It’s remarkable that God created us in his image and the blueprint of his Being which we possess gives us the capacity for grace in ourselves. Although it doesn’t come easily to us in our fallen state to show grace, it is there and inspires us to see grace in others too.

God’s unchanging love and grace fill the Bible, speaking of acceptance, forgiveness, redemption and transformation; of underserved kindness and compassion to sinner and outcast, but the incarnation of his grace is epitomized in his love through Jesus Christ: “But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour was revealed, he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life… God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.” (Titus 3:4-7)

Everyone can appreciate God’s kindness all around us and rejoice in His undeserved favour; and when we serve him as Lord, we ourselves become bearers of his grace to others.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for being “our protector and glorious king, blessing us with kindness and honour”. (Psalm 84:11) Bless our understanding of grace this month as we celebrate your goodness to all. Amen