A Thought For The Week Of August 2 2015

"But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." (Ephesians 4:7) It's been my experience over the years that a lot of Christians (and, perhaps even more importantly, a lot of non-Christians) misunderstand the concept of grace. Some seem to think that God's grace is a little bit like a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card in Monopoly. It doesn't cost you anything, and it allows you to do whatever you want to do and not face consequences. Sometimes we refer to this idea as "cheap grace." And the problem is that we tend not to place much importance on things that are cheap. The very word implies that it's not of much importance; not of very high quality. But that's not the case at all. God's grace doesn't just tell us that we can do whatever we want and face no consequences; neither is it cheap. Grace is apportioned by Christ, today's verse tells us. In fact, Christ is the grace of God that has appeared on earth, and no one who knows the story of Jesus can think that grace is cheap - Jesus paid a very high price! When we come to understand the grace of God that has been apportioned to us by Christ, we come to understand the depth of God's love for us, and the price God was willing to pay, so to speak - a price reflected in the cross. Don't ever think that grace is cheap or that it means that God doesn't care what we do or how we act. Grace may be free - we don't have to earn it; it's a precious gift. But grace is not cheap, and it does not simply let us off the hook to live however we wish. Grace reminds us of just how indebted we are to God, who gave everything for us. Grace, properly understood, encourages us to grow into the likeness of Christ.