When we think of God’s grace, we often think of salvation and the forgiveness of sins. We hear sermons and teachings on the topic of God’s forgiveness over and over again, and if we’re not careful, these aspects of God’s grace can become mundane and lose their powerful meaning in our lives. But Ephesians 1:3, 7 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Forgiveness of our sins comes from the riches of God’s grace. What a precious thought, that God would provide for us something out of His riches! None of us deserves that kind of grace.
It is so important that we regularly reflect upon the incredible grace God shows us when we sin, and His faithfulness to always forgive us when we confess and repent. These amazing truths effect how we live our lives every day – whether we live in victory over sin or under condemnation and slavery to sin. When we experience God’s grace in our sin, we should be motivated by thankfulness to repent and put off our sinful ways. One of our residents recently experienced God’s grace in a big way, when she made a sinful choice, and she would like to share what she has learned:
“Several weeks ago while I was home, I ruined a lot of things by going against my authority here at Vision of Hope and deciding to sin in order to gain comfort that ultimately ended up leading to destruction in the end. The staff here had every right to send me out of the doors and dismiss me from the program entirely, but because of God and only by His grace, I am here. Not only am I here and learning to repent and learn from my sin, but I’ve also been able to see God and know God in ways I had never thought possible, from my sinful choices. He has forgiven me of all my sins and washed it white as snow. If it weren’t for Vision of Hope, I’m not sure where I would be. But because of God and His grace, I have joy and hope for all that this place is, and to know that He is my Redeemer.”
Awesome! Praise the Lord with us, for He is a gracious God, Whose kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). May we all be drawn closer to Him and be motivated to lay aside our sinful ways, as we reflect on His awesome grace!
