By God's Grace

Okay, so I had this thought about, honestly, just like what I would say. If somebody asked me, why do I say the phrase "by God's grace" so often? And it's related to a thought I had a while back where my best friend would, where Michael would say, "praise God", out of like forced habit. And it developed into a great point of spiritual maturity to say by reflex "praise God" in you know our slightly older age here, in our young parenthood. And so it's really related to that - I also say "by God's grace" a lot and why do I say that?

I think it's related to these central themes that have been a part of my reflections of freedom but freedom to what? It is freedom to love Jesus - see helkyo-what-is-it-for-god-to-draw-man-to-him And before that, I'm not free at all.

And that paired with believing loyalty and the choices I make every day - And I'm free to make the right choice... And sometimes even in God's sovereignty, I obey my sin instead of my king. Which brings me to by God's grace.

God's Grace

My life is not my own, and this is kind of a cliched phrase almost, but it's something I think I'm just, I'm coming to accept in a new way.

Belongings

I have possessions and I can do kind of whatever I want with them. I could break them and mend them and use them or not or let them get dirty or clean them. And it's up to me because they're my possessions.

And we have lots of Christian language - "God adopts us as sons" and we're "co-heirs and co-conquerers with Jesus"...

Those things are true, but also God owns us.

He redeems us unto himself, not just as a father and son, not just as the prodigal son or something like that - all things are made by him and held together by him.

He owns us.

So that's a fundamental reality for all people to either... accept or not, because there's nothing they can do to affect it.

Nothing anybody can do will update the reality that Yahweh is king. People can either accept that or not.

By God's grace, I am free to accept it. By God's grace, he has picked me out of the kingdom of darkness and placed me, imported me into the kingdom of light. He has made me a citizen of the celestial city.

I didn't choose it.

I didn't ask.

He drew me to him.

Freedom

I can say "by God's grace" because it's by no other thing that I have breath right now and that I can write this reflection. He holds the universe together. My life is not my own to live to me because I don't own my life. I am the possession of the king of the universe. And I am free to find fulfillment and joy in that. I am free to be satisfied by the king.

Freed from the oppression of materialism and worldliness and lust and greed.

I'm freed from the oppression of darkness. Freed to accept and call Yahweh my loving king rather than the conquering king who I stand opposed to in the end times, whatever that kind of means.

By God's grace, I get to love him.

And so to today, why do I say by God's grace?

Because everything that is good that happens to me is by his grace. And every trial or pain or bad thing I could think of or experience is only as bad as it is by his grace. And that trial, whatever it was or whatever may come - I pray I can echo Paul's words and say that it pales in comparison to the glory of the king.

Praise the Lord.