Where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. 2 Cor 4:16 (MSG)

PART 3 – Unfolding Grace

Go to  PART 1  | PART 2

In ‘Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith’ Anne Lamott writes,

“It [Grace] is unearned love–the love that goes before, that greets us on the way. It's the help you receive when you have no bright ideas left when you are empty and desperate and have discovered that your best thinking and most charming charm have failed you. Grace is the light or electricity or juice or breeze that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there.”

And, of course, we can’t have a conversation about grace without mentioning Frederick Buechner. He says,

“The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.”

Grace is more than unmerited favor. It's more then getting what we don’t deserve. It's not a one-off gift we received at salvation. Grace is the divine heartbeat of God. His blood, his breath. It's the sound he makes when he moves. It's the sweat that falls from his brow. It's his eyes upon our souls.

Grace is what holds our “earthen vessels” filled with the light of Christ together.

As we live and move and impact the world, and it impact us, grace is the unfolding force that helps us to choose love and life no matter what we do, what we face, and what happens to us. We didn’t receive all of it one go. There is no quantity or measure of it. It pulsates throughout our lives, unfolding day by day, situation by situation, heart by heart.

It is the means by which we can still stand, dust ourselves off, face tomorrow, maybe even with a humble and confident smile despite all that lies behind us.

If you're facing pain and brokenness, or if you’re experiencing joy and triumph, do it with grace. Receive it as the gift that it is. Then unwrap and let it surround your life in an unfolding manner. It rises on you in the morning and falls upon you in the evening. And while you sleep, grace keeps watch over your heart and life, preparing you for a brand new day.

Go to PART 4 – New Day

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