...continue in the grace of God.
   - Acts 13:43

God has revealed Himself as the God of all grace, but how dificult it is to believe that He is gracious! Our natural feeling is expressed by the man in the parable of Luke 19 to his master: "I feared you, because you are a harsh man" (verse 21). There is in all of us, naturally, a lack of understanding of the grace of God.

There is sometimes the thought that grace implies God's passing over sin. To the contrary! Sin to God is such a horribly bad thing that He cannot tolerate it, and nothing but free grace can meet the sinner's need. If it were in the power of the sinner to mend his ways, and mend himself, there would be no need of grace!

The moment I understand that I am a sinner and that the Lord came to me because He knew the full extent and hatefulness of my sin, then I can understand what grace is. Then I see that the grace of God is greater than my sin.

It is good to realize that the Lord who laid down His life for me is the same Lord with whom I have to do every day of my life. All His dealings with me are on the same principles of grace. How precious, how strengthening it is to know that Jesus is at this moment feeling and exercising the same gracious love toward me as when He died on the cross for me.

Suppose, for instance, that I have a bad temper that I find difficult to overcome. If I bring it to Jesus, then virtue goes out of Him to meet my need. My own effort will never be sufficient.

Real power is the result of the Lord being gracious. If, in His presence, we own ourselves to be just what we are, we shall find that He will show us nothing but grace. We are entitled to forget ourselves and our sin, but we are never entitled to forget about Jesus.

John N. Darby