Contemplation #115
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16.
A God-driven perspective on life reveals that grace is the source of every blessing. The series of blessings that John mentions, culminating in the incarnation of the Divine Word as a human being, and the rebirth of sinful people to become children of God, has all emanated from the grace of God. In the very next verse he speaks of the law of Moses, itself a vehicle of grace which explains how those chosen by mercy are to live within a grace-given relationship with God, is not contradicted but even more fully enacted in the life of Jesus. The grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ was another blessing, like the law of Moses, that has come to us from the fullness of God’s grace.
Contemplation #116
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16.
These words of John remind us that the grace of God comes to us not all at once, but in blessing after blessing. Every good and merciful act of God is not received at one instant, because actually it would be more than we could bear. Instead, God gives us grace for each moment, strength and endurance, patience and perseverance, and all according to his wisdom. It is a grace when God shows me my sin, but I cannot handle the grace of that revelation all at once. So God gives blessing after blessing, a steady stream of grace flowing into our lives appropriate to our journey, and sufficient for the moment.
Contemplation #117
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16.
John speaks about the ‘fullness’ of God’s grace because there is so much more than the commonly accepted grace of salvation. Grace that forgives our sin is but one blessing from the fullness of God’s grace, though the other ‘graces’ have received less attention whenever Christianity has been presented as “what I will get” instead of “what I will give up.” God’s grace instructs, reforms, and molds us into the likeness of Jesus. In seeing the fullness of grace we understand how an instructive code like the law of Moses is full of grace, not of forgiveness, but of the reformation of our daily life so we learn to love God and our neighbor. Let us not only think of grace as that which forgives, but as the source of every action of God to instruct, discipline, heal, comfort, and forgive.
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16.
A God-driven perspective on life reveals that grace is the source of every blessing. The series of blessings that John mentions, culminating in the incarnation of the Divine Word as a human being, and the rebirth of sinful people to become children of God, has all emanated from the grace of God. In the very next verse he speaks of the law of Moses, itself a vehicle of grace which explains how those chosen by mercy are to live within a grace-given relationship with God, is not contradicted but even more fully enacted in the life of Jesus. The grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ was another blessing, like the law of Moses, that has come to us from the fullness of God’s grace.
Contemplation #116
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16.
These words of John remind us that the grace of God comes to us not all at once, but in blessing after blessing. Every good and merciful act of God is not received at one instant, because actually it would be more than we could bear. Instead, God gives us grace for each moment, strength and endurance, patience and perseverance, and all according to his wisdom. It is a grace when God shows me my sin, but I cannot handle the grace of that revelation all at once. So God gives blessing after blessing, a steady stream of grace flowing into our lives appropriate to our journey, and sufficient for the moment.
Contemplation #117
“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16.
John speaks about the ‘fullness’ of God’s grace because there is so much more than the commonly accepted grace of salvation. Grace that forgives our sin is but one blessing from the fullness of God’s grace, though the other ‘graces’ have received less attention whenever Christianity has been presented as “what I will get” instead of “what I will give up.” God’s grace instructs, reforms, and molds us into the likeness of Jesus. In seeing the fullness of grace we understand how an instructive code like the law of Moses is full of grace, not of forgiveness, but of the reformation of our daily life so we learn to love God and our neighbor. Let us not only think of grace as that which forgives, but as the source of every action of God to instruct, discipline, heal, comfort, and forgive.
posted by Greg at 7:35 AM
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