Grace, the Gift of Freedom

     “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And
     God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34that there were no needy persons among
     them.”
     Acts 4:33 – 34a

The gift of Grace is given to all humankind. Everyone who has ever lived has had the gift given to them, because God loves his creation, and his great desire is that we be with him. For the Christian, the power of grace comes into play as we walk closer with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as the apostles grew more powerful because of grace, we too can become powerful as we work in the world. Our gifts are poured out upon us by the Spirit of God working in our lives. These gifts help us grow in the fruits of the Spirit, and as we grow in the fruits of the Spirit, we give more of ourselves to others.

In his book The Power of God’s Grace, Gary Schulz states:

     “He gives the gifts of his Spirit to individuals by the power of his grace so that his entire body
     will be served. By his grace living within us we are enabled and empowered to serve the whole
     body for the life of the body.”

When we live into the idea that the Kingdom of God is at hand, we begin to work for the good of all our brothers and sisters. Sacrificing ourselves to Christ wholly, we begin to live out the fruits of the Spirit.

     “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
     23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to
     Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
     Galatians 5:22 – 24

Again, looking at what Schulz says:

     “Notice that the fruit is essentially the character of God. When we receive the Spirit, we are
     receiving the character of God living within us so that we bear the fruit of God’s character.”

So, when we accept Christ and are filled with his Spirit, we become a true reflection of our loving Father. When we ‘crucify the flesh’ with Christ we become true instruments of the one and only living God.

That does not mean there won’t be times of trial and trouble, but what it does mean, what we are called to, is the working together to powerfully overcome those trials and troubles.
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Looking at the apostles as examples, all suffered and most lost their lives for the gospel of Christ. We too can experience loss, but the great joy comes in the gift of the grace that we have received. The power of grace is the gift of knowing our Lord and Savior in a personal and dynamic way. When we walk in this way, nothing can ever take our joy away.

The great power of grace is that it is freely given and when we live fully into that grace, we are truly free.
 
Kathy Hendrix