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Warning: this context contains Christian material. You are forewarned.
For years, ever since I became a follower of Christ, there was a term that I often read and heard that went right over my head, a term that I just took at face value without really realizing the full implications behind it. Until now, that is. That term was this: "the grace of God".
"By the grace of God we are saved." Alright. Awesome. Thanks God. That was my attitude; thankful for the grace, but not truly understanding the entire picture. Then, a couple of days ago, as I was reading scripture and communicating with the Holy Spirit, a sudden realization/revelation hit me full on, and it left me floored, awed, and overcome with emotion. I will do my very best to convey to you just exactly what I realized...its hard to put it into words. I feel like I need to share this with others (believers and non-believers alike), because what I realized gives an image to the face of God that so many people miss. I realized that, if people realized the grace of God, no one would hate Him. No one would give Him the middle finger and tell Him to F-off. Of course, I acknowledge that there will be people who do this still, and that is their choice. I have a choice to, and my choice is to not remain silent. I have to speak, I have to share...if I didn't I would literally explode inside. So here it goes.
What does the word "grace" actually mean? Its a word that has lots of meanings really. We say "grace" before a meal (well, some of us do). For those of you still under your parent's authority, they may give their "grace" and let you go hang out with friends. A judge gives "grace" when he lessens a criminal's sentence. Grace has so many faces, and in my sudden revelation, I saw that God is the epitome of grace.
Another definition of grace would be mercy. Mercy is given to a person when mercy is not deserved. I'll give you an example of mercy: a murderer is found guilty in the court and faces the death penalty for what he has done. This murder has confessed to the crime, and, shockingly, he shows genuine remorse for what he has done. The judge and jury see his remorse and, moved by compassion, extend the hand of mercy and take the death penalty off the table, giving him life in prison instead. You may beg to differ, but you get my point.
Because of the wrong we have done to God, none of us deserve His mercy, or grace. No one. Not you and not me. We can do NOTHING to earn His mercy-He has to freely give it. How many people today live their lives telling God, "I don't want Your mercy, I don't care." That's like telling the judge, "I don't want life in prison, I want the death penalty." Who in their RIGHT mind wants death over life?
Many people ask, "What has God done for me?!" He offers His mercy to you who does not deserve it. That's offering A LOT. Why? God cannot stand the presence of sin (what is sin: wrongdoing against God and against your fellow man) because God Himself is without sin; He is holy. He is pure. He has not been ravaged, like us, by the hands of sin and death. No one can blame Him for not wanting to be around sin...it horrifies Him. It sickens Him. It hurts Him. We are creatures of sin. We live lives that glorify sin. We live in rebellion. "I want to do MY thing!" It was never meant to be that way. We were never meant to be sinful creatures...but God would not have been fair if He did not offer us the choice between obeying Him or obeying our own natures. But every choice we make has its consequences, correct? They can be good consequences...or bad consequences.
But I'm getting off track here. God did not just "write us off" after we sinned, though He had to restrain His hand of total grace. Mankind had to go through sacrifical rituals to obtain a temporary "peace treaty" with God...until they sinned again, that is. This was not doing it for God, so He figured out a solution. I think you know where I'm going with this. That solution culminated in Jesus the Christ. After the death and resurrection of Christ, God said, "Finally! I can give them a chance at new life, away from sin!" Understand this, God doesn't want to condemn you...He wants to HELP you. He wants to SAVE you. He wants to show YOU mercy, even though you have spat at Him, used His precious name as a cuss-word, have bashed His followers for being "brainwashed" and stupid, and have even accused Him of being intolerant and cruel. The only ones who are intolerant and cruel are we human beings. Look at what we do to others! The blame is on OUR heads!
In Jesus' day, up until the very day He died, the only place God could be "found" was in the Jewish Temple. Know this: the God we Christians follow was, still is, and forever will be, the God of the Hebrews. The God of Israel. The God of the Jewish people. So that is why God dwelled in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Let me give you a quick rundown of what the Temple looked like. The Temple had three parts; 1) the outer court, 2) the Holy Place, 3) the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest was allowed to go beyond the Holy Place ONCE a year. He was only allowed to go before God visible presence on earth ONCE a year, to seek atonement for the nation of Israel. Now...put yourselves for a second in the priest's sandals. Let's say its the one day out of the entire year that you can go before God (you and only you...no one else can...anyone else who tries is instantly KILLED by fire from God...okay?). Your goal is to get into the Holy of Holies...alive. First, you must passed from the outer court and into the Holy Place...to do that, you must pass through the first veil...a two inch thick curtain that separates the Holy Place from the outside world. Inside the Holy Place, you do your priestly duties that you are required to do BEFORE you can enter into the Holy of Holies...the place where God sits, waiting for you. After your duties are complete, you can pass through the SECOND veil...another two inch thick curtain that separates the Holiest place from all outside things. The space inside the Holy of Holies is small...10' x 10'. There are two objects in this place: 1) the ark of the covenant, and 2) the mercy seat. The ONLY light available is that shining forth by God's tangible presence, His shekinah glory. Now that you have a visual...I want to focus on something: that second veil. Remember, its 2" thick from top to bottom...and it was designed so that it could not be ripped or destroyed by human hands. That second veil BLOCKED us from God's presence. Are you following me? Only ONE man on ONE DAY A YEAR was allowed to go before God.
Now lets back up some 2000 years. Jesus is on the cross, dying. Finally, in agony, Jesus says, "It is finished!"...in that moment, He dies. There is thunder, lightning, and an earthquake. But something else happens. That second veil, that 2" thick curtain, is RIPPED from top to bottom, IN HALF, from INSIDE the Temple. You can only imagine the panic the Temple priests must of have felt...for several thousand years they had been warned that should anyone go beyond that second veil or see beyond it, it would mean instant death.
Suddenly, upon Jesus' last breath, the way to God's presence is suddenly open to the public. It is opened up to sinners like you and me. THAT right there, the ripping of the second veil in the Temple, is the ultimate show of God's grace. In that gesture, God was saying: "No longer does ONE man come to me ONE day a year...but EVERY man and woman and child can come to Me EVERYDAY of the year!" It also signifies something else: God's presence is not confined to a small, 10' x 10' space. He goes forth from the Holy of Holies to find His lost children.
This ripping of the second veil is what struck me. We do not deserve to go beyond that second veil. In truth...we should be struck dead the moment we try. But now...we are beckoned...summoned...called...to go beyond and meet God face to face. God sits on the mercy seat as the Judge and says, "I offer you My grace (mercy). Take it, please!"
If you want to know who God is, know Him as grace. Mercy. Did you know He weeps over you? He agonizes over you? He suffered the pain of an excruciating death, for you. He did it for people like you and me, who are less than perfect, who have screwed up over and over again. For those of us who live ordinary lives...who live in the dumps...under a bridge. For those of us that society doesn't give a second thought over. God did not come to save those who feel saved already. He came for those who know they have no hope, and need something, or someone. The broken hearted. The sick in spirit.
God would have mercy on someone like me? God would offer His grace to me? What did I do to deserve it? Nothing. And that's the beauty of it. We do not deserve God's tender love and mercy and grace and forgiveness. We don't. But He offers it freely.
THAT'S grace!
For years, ever since I became a follower of Christ, there was a term that I often read and heard that went right over my head, a term that I just took at face value without really realizing the full implications behind it. Until now, that is. That term was this: "the grace of God".
"By the grace of God we are saved." Alright. Awesome. Thanks God. That was my attitude; thankful for the grace, but not truly understanding the entire picture. Then, a couple of days ago, as I was reading scripture and communicating with the Holy Spirit, a sudden realization/revelation hit me full on, and it left me floored, awed, and overcome with emotion. I will do my very best to convey to you just exactly what I realized...its hard to put it into words. I feel like I need to share this with others (believers and non-believers alike), because what I realized gives an image to the face of God that so many people miss. I realized that, if people realized the grace of God, no one would hate Him. No one would give Him the middle finger and tell Him to F-off. Of course, I acknowledge that there will be people who do this still, and that is their choice. I have a choice to, and my choice is to not remain silent. I have to speak, I have to share...if I didn't I would literally explode inside. So here it goes.
What does the word "grace" actually mean? Its a word that has lots of meanings really. We say "grace" before a meal (well, some of us do). For those of you still under your parent's authority, they may give their "grace" and let you go hang out with friends. A judge gives "grace" when he lessens a criminal's sentence. Grace has so many faces, and in my sudden revelation, I saw that God is the epitome of grace.
Another definition of grace would be mercy. Mercy is given to a person when mercy is not deserved. I'll give you an example of mercy: a murderer is found guilty in the court and faces the death penalty for what he has done. This murder has confessed to the crime, and, shockingly, he shows genuine remorse for what he has done. The judge and jury see his remorse and, moved by compassion, extend the hand of mercy and take the death penalty off the table, giving him life in prison instead. You may beg to differ, but you get my point.
Because of the wrong we have done to God, none of us deserve His mercy, or grace. No one. Not you and not me. We can do NOTHING to earn His mercy-He has to freely give it. How many people today live their lives telling God, "I don't want Your mercy, I don't care." That's like telling the judge, "I don't want life in prison, I want the death penalty." Who in their RIGHT mind wants death over life?
Many people ask, "What has God done for me?!" He offers His mercy to you who does not deserve it. That's offering A LOT. Why? God cannot stand the presence of sin (what is sin: wrongdoing against God and against your fellow man) because God Himself is without sin; He is holy. He is pure. He has not been ravaged, like us, by the hands of sin and death. No one can blame Him for not wanting to be around sin...it horrifies Him. It sickens Him. It hurts Him. We are creatures of sin. We live lives that glorify sin. We live in rebellion. "I want to do MY thing!" It was never meant to be that way. We were never meant to be sinful creatures...but God would not have been fair if He did not offer us the choice between obeying Him or obeying our own natures. But every choice we make has its consequences, correct? They can be good consequences...or bad consequences.
But I'm getting off track here. God did not just "write us off" after we sinned, though He had to restrain His hand of total grace. Mankind had to go through sacrifical rituals to obtain a temporary "peace treaty" with God...until they sinned again, that is. This was not doing it for God, so He figured out a solution. I think you know where I'm going with this. That solution culminated in Jesus the Christ. After the death and resurrection of Christ, God said, "Finally! I can give them a chance at new life, away from sin!" Understand this, God doesn't want to condemn you...He wants to HELP you. He wants to SAVE you. He wants to show YOU mercy, even though you have spat at Him, used His precious name as a cuss-word, have bashed His followers for being "brainwashed" and stupid, and have even accused Him of being intolerant and cruel. The only ones who are intolerant and cruel are we human beings. Look at what we do to others! The blame is on OUR heads!
In Jesus' day, up until the very day He died, the only place God could be "found" was in the Jewish Temple. Know this: the God we Christians follow was, still is, and forever will be, the God of the Hebrews. The God of Israel. The God of the Jewish people. So that is why God dwelled in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Let me give you a quick rundown of what the Temple looked like. The Temple had three parts; 1) the outer court, 2) the Holy Place, 3) the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest was allowed to go beyond the Holy Place ONCE a year. He was only allowed to go before God visible presence on earth ONCE a year, to seek atonement for the nation of Israel. Now...put yourselves for a second in the priest's sandals. Let's say its the one day out of the entire year that you can go before God (you and only you...no one else can...anyone else who tries is instantly KILLED by fire from God...okay?). Your goal is to get into the Holy of Holies...alive. First, you must passed from the outer court and into the Holy Place...to do that, you must pass through the first veil...a two inch thick curtain that separates the Holy Place from the outside world. Inside the Holy Place, you do your priestly duties that you are required to do BEFORE you can enter into the Holy of Holies...the place where God sits, waiting for you. After your duties are complete, you can pass through the SECOND veil...another two inch thick curtain that separates the Holiest place from all outside things. The space inside the Holy of Holies is small...10' x 10'. There are two objects in this place: 1) the ark of the covenant, and 2) the mercy seat. The ONLY light available is that shining forth by God's tangible presence, His shekinah glory. Now that you have a visual...I want to focus on something: that second veil. Remember, its 2" thick from top to bottom...and it was designed so that it could not be ripped or destroyed by human hands. That second veil BLOCKED us from God's presence. Are you following me? Only ONE man on ONE DAY A YEAR was allowed to go before God.
Now lets back up some 2000 years. Jesus is on the cross, dying. Finally, in agony, Jesus says, "It is finished!"...in that moment, He dies. There is thunder, lightning, and an earthquake. But something else happens. That second veil, that 2" thick curtain, is RIPPED from top to bottom, IN HALF, from INSIDE the Temple. You can only imagine the panic the Temple priests must of have felt...for several thousand years they had been warned that should anyone go beyond that second veil or see beyond it, it would mean instant death.
Suddenly, upon Jesus' last breath, the way to God's presence is suddenly open to the public. It is opened up to sinners like you and me. THAT right there, the ripping of the second veil in the Temple, is the ultimate show of God's grace. In that gesture, God was saying: "No longer does ONE man come to me ONE day a year...but EVERY man and woman and child can come to Me EVERYDAY of the year!" It also signifies something else: God's presence is not confined to a small, 10' x 10' space. He goes forth from the Holy of Holies to find His lost children.
This ripping of the second veil is what struck me. We do not deserve to go beyond that second veil. In truth...we should be struck dead the moment we try. But now...we are beckoned...summoned...called...to go beyond and meet God face to face. God sits on the mercy seat as the Judge and says, "I offer you My grace (mercy). Take it, please!"
If you want to know who God is, know Him as grace. Mercy. Did you know He weeps over you? He agonizes over you? He suffered the pain of an excruciating death, for you. He did it for people like you and me, who are less than perfect, who have screwed up over and over again. For those of us who live ordinary lives...who live in the dumps...under a bridge. For those of us that society doesn't give a second thought over. God did not come to save those who feel saved already. He came for those who know they have no hope, and need something, or someone. The broken hearted. The sick in spirit.
God would have mercy on someone like me? God would offer His grace to me? What did I do to deserve it? Nothing. And that's the beauty of it. We do not deserve God's tender love and mercy and grace and forgiveness. We don't. But He offers it freely.
THAT'S grace!
The title is self-explanatory.
© 2013 - 2024 DaraBlack
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wonderful my dad is a pastor in eden nc