12 Days of Christmas: Day #10 Jesus is GRACIOUS
Mercy and grace. Grace and mercy. These two attributes go hand in hand to demonstrate the love of God through Christ Jesus.
The mercy of Jesus spares us from punishment, but the GRACE of Jesus GIVES us something we could never earn on our own. The grace of Jesus gives us the unmerited favor of God.
Not only are we, by His mercy, spared from death and separation from God, but, by His grace, we are GIVEN eternal life with God. This is all because of the grace and love of God through Jesus.
John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” God, in His mercy, gave up His son, that we would not die. And God, in His grace, gave each one of us the opportunity to receive eternal life.
This, in and of itself, is an amazing grace–that God would not only spare us but give us something beyond anything we could ever hope for or imagine, by gifting us reconciliation and eternal life with our Heavenly Father. But, this is not the only way Jesus shows us grace.
Jesus also shows us grace in gifting us the Holy Spirit–to help us, to guide and direct us, to comfort us, to empower and strengthen us, and to gift us to do His will in greater measure.
2 Corinthians 9:8 tells us, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that, having all sufficiency in all things, at all times, you may abound in every good work.” Not only do we, in God’s grace through Jesus, receive the gift of eternal life, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, but also the gifts of His grace to provide all that we need to do His work.
What kind of gift is this? This is the gift of Christmas…our gracious God came down to earth as a baby, to grow into a man destined to die…to lay down His life, in His amazing grace, so that we would, in His mercy, be spared from the punishment we earned, and be gifted, by His grace, an eternal life with our Father in heaven. This is the grace of Christmas. This is the grace of Christ.
How does the grace of Christ affect you today?
How does it cause you to worship Jesus?
How will His grace be revealed in your life today? How can you give the gift of Christ’s grace with others this week?
Take a moment to pray. Thank God for His amazing grace that came down to save mankind. Thank Him for His amazing grace that still today saves each man who will accept this grace in faith. Confess any ways you may have rejected His grace or any ways you may have cheapened that grace. Ask for His forgiveness–for His mercy and His grace, trusting they are yours through Him. Ask Him to help you have eyes to see His grace at work in your heart and in your life, and to help you extend that grace to others. Thank Him for making all grace abound to give you everything you need to live for Him.
