Crushed by Grace
Have you ever had the experience of being
completely overwhelmed by God’s love? Have you felt that
the events in your life are almost crushing because His grace
is so sweet? I love to watch the Extreme Home Makeover Show that
gives a truly needy family an outrageously beautiful brand new
home. Sometimes the family members fall to the floor when they
receive the free gift of a home that has been built just for
them. That is what I think of being crushed by grace. If you
know what that feels like spiritually, you are blessed. If you
haven’t ever felt so overwhelmed by God’s love, please
know that God’s grace will amaze and overpower you as you
walk with Him and open your heart to receiving all He has for
you.
My husband called me the other day with news of another way that God had surprised
us with an unexpected blessing. That’s when he described what he felt as
being crushed by God’s grace. That is a strange way to put it,
but it is so very true.
When I let myself ponder the grace of the cross, I am even more deeply crushed
by the grace that flows from it more than any material gift that I could be given.
Jesus was crucified in spite of the fact that He was the only human who never
sinned. He was nailed there not because of anything He had done wrong. Could
anyone ever be in need of any more grace than to be forgiven of their sin? Is
there a need for God to offer more grace? Maybe not, but He does. Especially
in our hard times, God’s grace will break through.
John 1:16 says, From the fullness of his grace we have all received
one blessing after another. The ultimate grace is Jesus Christ Himself and
His world transforming death that brought reconciliation between man and God.
But that is not all the grace God wants to give. Jesus was as full of grace,
as John 1:14 says, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth. Jesus is the source of grace that explodes from
the cross and extends to our everyday lives.
If you feel distant from the slogan crushed by grace, I have an idea for you.
Choose a time where you can block out an hour to simply meditate on the cross
of Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit, your personal Grace Tutor, to help you enter
into the reality of the cross so you too can become crushed by grace. He might
lead you to think about all the people that were present there and take the role
of someone close by, a thief, a Roman guard, one of the Women, or the Apostle
John. Another way He may lead you is to meditate on each of Jesus’ wounds.
You may start at His feet or His head and, more deeply than you have ever done,
see and feel His grace flowing from each of those wounds.
It is indeed a true statement that I have been crushed by God’s grace.
I still need His help to realize the fullness of grace I have been given. I hope
you are crushed by grace very soon.
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