As the librarian checked in my overdue books I tensed, waiting to hear how much I owed. Two weeks earlier I’d put 12 books in the backseat of my car planning to drop them off at the library that day. They stayed there for two weeks. Twelve books at 10 cents a day for 14 days—I’d be out several dollars.

“No charge,” the librarian said.

I stared at her.

“No charge,” she continued, holding up merciful hands. “This is the day of grace. We have these times every so often to encourage people to bring in their overdue books. You’re fortunate to hit the right day.”

I couldn’t believe it! The thing I had dreaded was no longer a threat. The cloud lifted, the boulder rolled off my shoulders, guilt vanished.

My relief was great. But this was nothing compared to the relief I felt when I came to Jesus loaded down with sin and he forgave me.

“The fine for sin is death!” Satan said, pointing an accusing finger at me.

But he didn’t have the last word. Someone came beside me. “There’s no charge for sin,” he said gently. “It’s paid for. Just come.” And Jesus held out scarred hands to welcome me.

This is grace. It is receiving God’s favor when you can do nothing to deserve it.

Grace is a key attribute of God—“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God” (Exodus 34:6). The grace of God is seen in Christ when he healed the sick and fed the multitude. By these compassionate acts he revealed the Father’s heart. John 1:17 says, “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

You are called by grace. You heard a sermon or observed a Christ-like life and grace beckoned, “Come to Jesus!” You came and believed.

“How can I be accepted by God?” every person asks sometime in his lifetime. Because a holy God cannot tolerate sin, you were condemned. But when you received salvation in Christ, his grace declared you just—as if you had never sinned. “We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

A Christian grows in God’s grace. You can’t control your tongue. You tend to be nasty and spiteful. “Where is this abundant grace?” you ask. It’s available. By reading and obeying God’s Word and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, you “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

For a believer, God’s grace actually increases in troublesome times. A teenager is rebellious. You lose your job or divorce threatens. “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20). In a time of deep need, the Lord told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The apostle Peter made it clear that you access God’s grace with a humble, prayerful attitude. “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5).

God’s grace can be abused by those who believe grace means you do as you please. “They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). Paul declared to the Galatian church, “You have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5: 4).

As grace blotted out the fine I owed the library for overdue books, so God’s grace erased my filthy, sinful past. And for all believers, Christ’s amazing, unfathomable grace touches every area of our lives, every day, molding us more and more into the image of the gracious One—Jesus. |L

OUTLOOK is a forum for responsible Christian writers. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Standard Publishing or The Lookout.

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 15, 2009 - Bringing Christ to French Guiana
November 1, 2009 - Walking the edge
October 18, 2009 - Watch what you say
October 4, 2009 - Proposing a new proverb
September 20, 2009 - Fear and trembling
September 6, 2009 - Elwyn
August 23, 2009 - Where did the Bible go?
August 9, 2009 - The public school: a local mission field
July 26, 2009 - Astonishing the judges
July 12, 2009 - Letting the past go
June 28, 2009 - Line up
June 14, 2009 - The path to spiritual growth
May 31, 2009 - A tribute to one of my heroes
May 17, 2009 - Silent soldier
April 19, 2009 - Operation Resensitization
April 5, 2009 - The temptations of ministers
March 8, 2009 - Conversation over shoes
February 22, 2009 - By their plurals you shall know them
February 8, 2009 - What is missing from your retirement plans?
January 25, 2009 - Turn the page
December 28, 2008 - Abba, Father
December 14, 2008 - Elementary truths
November 30, 2008 - The illusion
October 19, 2008 - Acting like a toddler
October 5, 2008 - Don’t miss this
September 21, 2008 - Foolish schemes
September 7, 2008 - God’s hand is everywhere
August 24, 2008 - The dance
August 10, 2008 - Strange land
July 13, 2008 - A best seller
June 29, 2008 - My grandfather’s clock and worship
June 1, 2008 - Reclaiming the name
May 4, 2008 - God is not our fairy godmother
April 6, 2008 - Success: what is it and who can measure up?
March 9, 2008 - Need to know
February 10, 2008 - The top three myths of singleness
January 13, 2008 - By invitation only
December 5, 2007 - Yes, Abbie, there is a Jesus
November 18, 2007 - 10 Ways to be a good Christmas customer
October 21, 2007 - The dividing line
September 23, 2007 - What do you fear?
September 9, 2007 - A life well lived
August 26, 2007 - To murmur, or not to murmur
July 29, 2007 - The cross and the Christian
July 15, 2007 - Turning the other cheek: still a valuable biblical principle
July 1, 2007 - Why the tie?
June 3, 2007 - The death of a son
May 6, 2007 - A prayer for the dying
April 8, 2007 - The omnipresent God
March 11, 2007 - Do the Amish have superheroes?
February 11, 2007 - What’s your black history?
January 14, 2007 - The split branch
December 31, 2006 - The house of regret
December 10, 2006 - The redemption of the innkeeper
November 26, 2006 - Too many choices
November 12, 2006 - Break the bashing habit: Learning to love the unsaved like Christ does: November 12, 2006
October 15, 2006 - Be ‘salt and light’ this Christmas!: October 15, 2006
September 17, 2006 - Who is a legalist?: September 17, 2006 Issue 38
July 23, 2006 - God speaks through our brokenness: July 23, 2006 Issue 38
June 25, 2006 - 'What I am looking for in my church leaders'