By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

“We know also that we can do all things with the grace of God, which He never refuses to them who ask it earnestly.” – Brother Lawrence

I sat down, just like I do every day, and picked up my Bible from the coffee table. I cracked it open to the book of 1 Corinthians and began reading. When I reached the fifteenth chapter, six words jumped off the page at me.

“BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

After I read that verse I sat and meditated on those words: but by the grace of God. Where would I be if not for the grace of God? What would I do without the grace of God? What would I have been unable to do if it wasn’t for the grace of God?

God’s grace has been at work in each and every person’s life on this planet. Even before we believed, God’s grace was at work, turning our hearts toward Him and showing us the error of our ways.

When we are finally saved and adopted as a child of God, it is only by grace.

“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” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

If it was not for God’s grace that was shed upon us we could not receive the gift of eternal life that is extended to each and every one of us. God’s grace is undeserved, and because of it, we are able to have a relationship with our creator.

It is through God’s grace that we can be changed and sculpted more and more into His image. Because of God’s amazing grace, we can be sanctified and made holy just as our Father in heaven is holy.

But by the grace of God, where would you be? Without the grace of God, who would you be?

If it was not for the grace of God at work in my life I could never be a pastor. If it wasn’t for the grace of God working in and through me, it would be impossible for me to serve others. If it was not for God’s grace being poured into my life, I would have never accepted God’s call in the first place.

Without God’s grace, we are nothing, we have nothing, and we can be nothing. Without the grace of God, we have no hope or future. Without God’s grace, we are stuck in our sin and doomed to death.

But be encouraged today:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” (Titus 2:11).

Parents: Explain to your children what God’s grace means for them. Explain to them where you would be if not for God’s grace.