Copyright\u00a0 by Shea Oakley<\/p>\n
All rights reserved<\/p>\n
At times it is difficult to trust that God\u2019s grace continues to be present in our lives. This is especially true if our past experiences have been full of pain caused by the conditional love that is so common among human beings. This pain, along with an awareness of the scarcity that defines our fallen world, can make us think in terms of grace being a finite commodity rather than an infinite, inexhaustible gift.<\/p>\n
When self-condemnation has a grip upon our souls it seems quite possible to believe that God is only so willing to put up with the darkness which we sometimes perceive within ourselves. At such times it seems unimaginable that the divine forbearance made manifest by grace will be sufficient to cover the evil that seems to remain in our lives. \u201cSurely God has had enough of me\u201d, we think. \u201cWhat if I have pushed Him past the limits of His patience?\u201d<\/p>\n
However God\u2019s mercy extends far beyond what a sin-haunted, struggling believer in the midst of a \u201cdark night of the soul\u201d experience tends to think it can.<\/p>\n
Grace has been theologically defined as \u201cunmerited favor.\u201d By such a definition it cannot be earned. If grace cannot be earned<\/em> then it is reasonable to believe that it cannot be spent<\/em> either. The very word \u201cspent\u201d implies the finite and is not applicable to something that is inexhaustible. Perhaps we can reject this gift of God\u2500 but this would be grace spurned<\/em>, not grace exhausted. Compared to the potentially exhaustible love of fellow imperfect people in our lives, divine love is limitless. It never runs out. Think of it this way: God is love and God is infinite. Therefore His love must be as He is\u2500 infinite. This reality is one of the cornerstones of the Gospel; in putting our faith in Christ we gain access to the Father\u2019s unending love. In sanctification His love works to progressively perfect us. At the time of our home-going, or at the return of our Lord, this same love will definitively finish that work.<\/p>\n We who have a proclivity for self-effort (and its resulting self-punishment) often draw lines in the sand for ourselves. We believe that if these lines are crossed, God may no longer love us and grace will be withdrawn from our lives because we\u2019ve \u201csinned it away.\u201d The exact nature of the crossed lines in question varies, but they always involve some sin that we see as particularly heinous, particularly persistent, or both. If any such self-made line is breached, we are tempted to presume that God has no choice but to stop loving the one who sins so horribly. Surely, at this point, the God who so clearly hates sin must begin to hate us?<\/p>\n Remember, though, that the question at issue is whether or not divine love can be used up<\/em>, not whether it can be refused<\/em>. Besetting sin is one thing, apostasy is another. Theologians may argue that a person who calls himself a believer but then deliberately and finally renounces Jesus Christ effectively refuses the ongoing grace of God. But does this mean that God never loved him? Does it mean that He doesn\u2019t continue to love him, even now when that love is destined to be unrequited? If God unconditionally loves a human being how can He be made to hate that person? His love, after all, does not depend upon us but upon Himself.<\/p>\n In Christ God has made it clear that He hates the sin but not, by some kind of divine necessity, the sinner. We are loved despite our sin. Once we repent of our unbelief, and trust in the saving work of the Son of God, the Father\u2019s inexhaustible grace is brought to bear on and in us. As long as we truly want His grace, it is available for us.<\/p>\n The wonderful thing about God\u2019s grace is that the very desire for, and receiving of, that grace can keep us alive in its continual flow and continuing to want more\u2026.both now and forever.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Copyright\u00a0 by Shea Oakley All rights reserved At times it is difficult to trust that God\u2019s grace continues to be present in our lives. This is especially true if our past experiences have been full of pain caused by the conditional love that is so common among human beings. This pain, along with an awareness… <\/p>\n