God is Gracious
God is Gracious
To be gracious means 'to favor,' ‘to show kindnesses’ to an inferior,
and ‘to be compassionate.’ In the Old Testament of the Bible, this
adjective applies to God, indicative of His favor and mercy, His long-
suffering and general inclination of favor and kindness.
In Isaiah 30:18 it says, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he
rises to show you compassion.”
God is gracious because He is love. It is His character to love even if
love is not returned to Him. He will give us good things because of
His goodness. He extends favor, mercy, and kindness on whoever He
pleases because it’s who He is.
God is gracious because He is our Creator. Even when we don’t
acknowledge Him or worship Him, He still endows us with good
things because He wants to. God created mankind as good and He
won’t turn His back on His creatures or creation.
"Grace is another attribute that is part of the manifold of God's love.
By this we mean that God deals with his people not on the basis of
their merit or worthiness, what they deserve, but simply according to
their need; in other words, he deals with them on the basis of his
goodness and generosity." - Erickson1
How is God gracious?
Think of a parent. A father and mother will give good things to their
:
children because they want to nurture their children. They provide
shelter, food, and clothing because they know that it is necessary for
the well-being of the children. They also give them gifts out of love
for their children.
God does the same thing. He has provided everything for humanity
in order for them to grow and prosper. He goes beyond just
subsistence. He personalizes each and every gift. He does this even
though we don’t recognize or deserve it.
Ephesians 1:7 shows us about God’s grace. “In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance
with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom
and understanding.” Through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the
cross we have received His grace.
When is God gracious?
God is gracious all the time, even when we are disobedient to Him. It
is His character to be gracious and He "does not change like the
shifting shadows" (James 1:17). He extends His mercy to us until the
final moment of our lives. He wants none to perish because He
created us to live in eternity with Him.
It is by God’s grace that we can have eternal life. God had so much
compassion on humanity that He sent His only Son to die for the
disobedience of all mankind. God is gracious in our times of need,
sending provision for us:
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this
is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that
no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us
to do" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
:
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans
5:1-2)
We extend God’s grace to those in need by extending our hands on
His behalf. Helping our brothers and sisters in this world to find
peace, comfort, and strength in times when desperation threatens to
overwhelm them. This is the response that God desires us to have
for each other.
As we seek God for who He is, we gain understanding and wisdom.
He then begins to mold us into a likeness of His son, Jesus. Our
character changes and we become more willing to show God’s grace
and kindness to the world. Learn More about the Attributes of
God!
Footnote:
1 Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology, 320-321.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? - We have all sinned and deserve God's
judgment. God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment
for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of
God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our
sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose
from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust
this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring,
"Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity
with God in heaven.
:
What is your response?
Yes, today I am deciding to follow Jesus
Yes, I am already a follower of Jesus
I still have questions
:
