II Thessalonians 3:18
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
This verse is the conclusion of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians. He ends the letter(s) the same way he starts it (them), with the grace of God. What is grace? Many use the acronym of the word spelled out as God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Another definition is His unmerited favor.
God’s love is given to us without anything that we’ve done. A great example is a good parent. That parent loves the child even if he or she is difficult. The parent constantly has the child in mind. Their thoughts are “What can I do to maximize his/her experience?” And “How can I distance myself to create greater independence?” God has these same thoughts toward us.
While looking to a good parent is helpful, it comes short. God’s love towards us is far greater than the best of parents. Matthew 7:11 says, ““If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” This love is so great it’s beyond comprehension.
The earlier definition described it as unmerited. This is difficult to comprehend. Much of our lives revolve around that which is earned. This is true. We reap what we sow. We emphasize a strong work ethic. Another concept is giftedness. Proverbs 18:16 days, “A man’s gift makes room for him And brings him before great men.” As we use our strengths, we are rewarded. Most of life programs us to think about what’s earned. This doesn’t apply to our relationship with God and His grace. There is no way to earn it or improve our standing.
God’s grace and favor are ours, even though we don’t deserve it. We have to abandon the “earning” mindset in this regard. Not much else can bless us so greatly. Some are helped through therapy as the therapist exhibits unconditional positive regard. While this isn’t possible with humans, it is with God. God loves us even though we’ve done bad things and will probably do them again.
Jesus tells of the prodigal son. The father sees the son a long way off. For this to happen it’s supposed the father was often looking for him. The lost son was often on his mind. They weren’t thoughts of punishment, but of welfare. So it is with us. Through Christ’s forgiveness, God has good thoughts towards us (Jeremiah 29:11).
Through God’s grace, we’ve got a restored relationship with You. Many have parent wounds. Our reconciliation heals those. The Lord has become a father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).
Lord, thank You for grace. Your unconditional love heals us. Our relationship is a blessing