I found this image on the beloved Pinterest and my first thoughts were, “Wow, how profound!” I then obviously saved it so that i could share it on my social media feed ( i know you do this too hehe). But when i went to scroll through my photo album, i looked at it again and i found myself having a very different and opposite reaction to these two words. Why do we chase grace?!
So thanks to this 2 simple yet powerful words, it has inspired a blog post. Once again thanks Pinterest for some inspiration.
I’ll start by dissecting each word :
Grace – Theology
- the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
- the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
- a virtue or excellence of divine origin:the Christian graces.
- Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God’s favor or one of the elect.
Chase – Verb
- to follow or devote one’s attention to with the hope of attracting, winning, gaining, etc
If you go back to point 1 of the definition of Grace, it says that grace is FREELY GIVEN. Then have a look again at the definition of chase. I’m sure you get where I’m going with this already.
The question is, why do we try to prove ourselves for something that is already ours for the taking?
Imagine this, it’s your birthday and someone who loves you dearly, hands you a gift but you don’t take it immediately because you feel that you should first prove to them why you deserve it. Sounds crazy, right?
Well that’s exactly what we do to God. Here is scripture that shows us that grace is gift to us from God.
Romans 3:20-24 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
“Grace, then, is grace,–that is to say, it is sovereign, it is free, it is sure, it is unconditional, and it is everlasting.” ~ Alexander Whyte
So why do we then chase grace? I think that the purpose of the image i found on Pinterest was to encourage to always be in pursuit of God and in turn chasing/pursuing Him, means we inherit His grace. Which ultimately is such an awesome encouragement. Unfortunately, in reality people feel like they need to earn the grace of God but this is not what He wants from us. I ask again, why do we then chase grace? Maybe it is a sense of unworthiness, or that you’re undeserving. But God didn’t send Jesus for those who are perfect. God wants to restore us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 11:6 ESV
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace
We don’t have to earn grace. And i pray that you fully comprehend Gods Word and Promise when it comes to gift of grace.
And we all make mistakes on our journey, as no one is perfect! But still Gods grace is still there for you and me.
John 1:16 ESV
And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
I read an amazing blog post about grace and the author wrote that people often says that you shouldn’t abuse grace but he then made such a profound point. Saying that the grace of God causes you to draw near in love and faith to God. There in turn grace encourages to turn away from our sin. I love this quote from the author “Gods grace is the divine enablement by the life of Christ in us, for us, to be all we’re meant to be and do all we’re called to do.”
Read the full article http://basrijksen.com/abuse-grace/
Grace gives us the freedom to fulfil all that God wants for our lives without having to look over our shoulders.
2 Timothy 2:1 ESV
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
So let’s get back to the the actual purpose behind these two words. And be relentless in your pursuit of getting to know your Saviour. Receive His grace and He will set your path straight.
I could give you endless scriptures on grace but i think you get it. I actually encourage you to right some of these down and maybe go look up some others and see which one resonates with you and paste them up or in somewhere you come into contact with daily.
We often forget about Gods grace and in this way, we all always be reminded.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and if this is your first time reading one of my posts, i have a little disclaimer, that everything i right is my personal point of view and experiences. I may not always be 100% accurate but hey, thats ok, remember, grace, grace, grace.
Don’t forget your homework. Jot down some these of scriptures and research some more.
Remember,
You are Loved!
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