There is within the limitless confines of the Trinity, a Love so real as to shatter any conception we have ever had of the word. The Love of G_d, is the very substance of who He is. It is that within Himself which gives Himself away in utter communion and service to His own Triune Self – and that Same Love is that which He has, does, and will drown us in forever. Love is the right concern of G_d, for His own good Name, turned towards us.
~ Makala Barnabas Doulos
God is Love. Love is the deepest depth, the essence of his nature, at the root of all his being.
~ George MacDonald
I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed (gr. hyperepleonasen ὑπερεπλεόνασεν surpassingly increased [super-abounded]) for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in 1 Timothy 1
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (gr. hypereperisseusen ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν, over-abounded),
~ Romans 5:20
Oh beloved, it is true. There is something so enormous, so astounding, so jaw-dropping, so universe-making and so string-crushing, that we cannot even begin to put it into words. The Love of G_d is so utterly part of the makeup of the universe, that we tend to miss it. It is not something that we have to put into context. It IS the context of our existence. For in Him we live and move and have our being.
And as Love is who He is, Grace is the actual working of His goodness towards His entire creation. Grace is the riches of His very Person. Grace is the infinite and perfect catalyst of the substance of the Trinity. And within Grace is infinite power to do all things.
So, in our world today there seems to be this debate as to whether grace can be over-extended. But, in calling grace over hyped, it seems what is really being (rightly, though mistakenly) attacked, is that some want to take what they call ‘grace’ and use it to live in the place they used to live. However, just as we have misunderstood the word ‘love,’ we have somehow thought that both ‘love’ and ‘grace’ are a license to get what we want – or to manipulate others into giving us what we think we need.
However, our flesh has made the same old play beloved. Don’t listen to it. It will (as it always has) kill you. For anything filtered through the broken fallenness of who we are, apart from Him, will always yield a corrupted result. Without faith in Him (as utterly opposed to ourselves), it is impossible to please Him.
So further, our theologies and rules and regulations and lusts and ragings and everything else that we spin to keep ourselves right in our own eyes do not need to be adjusted – they need to be crushed to death. And this is exactly what G_d, in His great Love with which He has Loved us, has done. By Grace we have been saved from ALL OF THIS.
G_d, Love Himself. G_d, Grace Himself has reached into our world and into our pain and wretchedness to set us free from the all of it, that we might be free to Live and Love and become exactly like Him one day. Through simply trusting Him, we are being super-saturated in Love and Grace that we might take on the very flavor and look and heart of the substance of who G_d is.
Said simply beloved, grace is not grease for the gears of our old life. Grace is the force that destroys the old man in us, and makes us just like who we are Designed to be – like Him.
Alive
Whole
Loving
Joyous
Graceful
Powerful
Fruitful
Beautiful
Free.
Yeah, the shape of Grace is quite different than anything we can try to wrap our minds around. Grace is exceedingly and abundantly bigger than the intellectual capacity of the wisest man. No, all of this must be discerned in a reality much more real than the brain and its interface with our soul. These things must be received, by faith, into the newly reborn spiritual man that we are. For Grace is the infinite manifestation of the infinite Love of an infinite G_d.
So, are you struggling to understand Grace dear friend? Perhaps you might start with the substance from which Grace flows. You are Loved. You are Loved. You are Loved. You have never been not Loved. And if you will but allow a crack in your wall of unbelief, you might be surprised – even tonight – to see Grace joyously and Lovingly smash down the battlements of your unwillingness.
Tonight is your night. Time to believe.
