In Genesis, God initiated His covenant with Abram. The covenant was God’s idea, God’s promise. Abram had nothing to do with it. When God made the covenant with Abraham, God put him into a deep sleep. He wasn’t even awake! So too, when God decided to die for us, we were still asleep in our sins.
In Isaiah, God promises the Messiah. Jesus came to save, to rescue, to redeem, all based on God’s decision.
In Ephesians 1:4, Paul says that God had decided to adopt us as sons and daughters even before he made the earth. So God had a plan from before time began to create a family. This was His desire and has been His plan all along.
But this plan cost God a lot. He offers it to us for free, but it wasn’t free to him. God came in the flesh as the person of Jesus. Jesus gave us a glimpse of what God is like. Jesus was compassionate. He cared for those hurting, those who were needy, those who were marginalized, those who had made poor choices and now were suffering the consequences of them, and those who knew they hadn’t done right and it bothered them. He cared for those who understood they needed God to intervene, those who felt the deep emptiness deep down in their souls even when they had kept all the external religious obligations they had learned as a child. This is God. This is how God feels and Jesus demonstrated how God wants to interact with us.
Jesus took all of that sin, all that loneliness, all that need onto himself, and went to the cross to die. He died in our place and went into hell where you and I were destined to go. He did it willingly becasue he knew this was the only way for us to be free; to be free of guilt, to be free of sinful behaviors, to be free of the isolation we feel when we are ashamed. God wants us to be free of all of that. But more importantly, he wants us to know him.
Because Jesus was sinless, hell could not keep him. In death, he defeated the enemy of our souls, Satan, and rose victorious over hell, gaining the keys of hell and death. Jesus is now in charge for all of eternity. That is why, if you call on the name of Jesus, and put your confidence in his death as payment for your sins, he forgives you and will set you free. He gives you new life by giving his Spirit to live inside you.
Luke 12:32 Jesus said “Do not fear little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” This is grace. We have nothing to do with it. We bring none of our own merit to bear on God’s decision. His goodness toward us is not based on anything we’ve done or who we are. Grace has always been God’s plan from the beginning of time.
Even in the concept of grace, no one can add their own merit. Grace is unmerrited favor. The very definition of grace declares the boundaries. Grace stands alone, by itself, with no one being able to add a bit of good deed to it.
So how am I to interact with such grace? Anything I try to do good has ulterior motives, even when I’m not consciously aware of it. No one deserves God’s favor, not you, not me. We are all bankrupt.
I’m overwhelmed by God’s mercy. What can we possibly offer back to Him? It is God who gives.
Only two choices are before us in our response to such mercy. We can fall at his feet in worship and accept his offer of love. Or we can say no, refuse to accept his grace, his unmerrited favor. But who are you to say no to God? Do you know God is angry over sin? His anger is described as a consuming fire. Scripture says “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” (Heb 10:31).
I put my confidence in Jesus’ sacrifice for me. I choose to accept his mercy. In return, he has given me eternal life through his Spirit which he gives to all who put their trust in him. Now I am a child of God, a new creation, budding with God’s life within.
This grace was God’s idea to begin with. He has offered it to mankind as a free gift, though it wasn’t free to God. But he went through all of this so we could know him; not just know about him, but really, truly, experientially, know him in a personal, relational way. That is what He wants. He wants you and me to know him, to be in his kingdom now and when we pass into eternity.
Such love has He lavished on us that He calls us His children. My “Thank you,” isn’t enough. My life is all I have to offer that barely begins to express my gratitude back to Him for such love, mercy, and unmerited favor He has poured out upon me. If God be for you, who can be against you? If He so freely gives us all things, how can we not have all things?