Grace is a Many Splendored Thing

September 4, 2015

Grace is a Many Splendored Thing

If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

Matthew 10:38-39

Jesus did not mince words. He often talked in dramatic, either / or prose, painting a black and white choice for his followers. You were either in, or you were out. Such hyperbole was necessary to contrast the sharp distinction between the choices that have been offered to the world: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).

It is God’s amazing grace that invites us into His world of a rich and satisfying life, and it is God’s amazing grace that sustains us when we fail to live up to His high standards. Indeed, God’s grace is a many splendored thing. It is this love that captivated the heart of Brennan Manning, and inspired him to write    “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are; not as we should be. Because no one is as they should be.” (All is Grace by Brennan Manning)

We are those who seek to be fully-devoted followers of Jesus, and our great challenge is to ever keep before us the call of radical discipleship, (If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.), and the comfort of radical grace: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).

Achieving this balance in life is much more of an art than it is a science. The one trail marker I have found indispensable is to always and everywhere remember who I am, and whose I am. I found this prayer very helpful in practicing this art:

O Lord, our Lord,

how excellent is Thy name in all the earth;

I worship Thee.

With all angels and saints I adore Thee.

I acknowledge Thee to be by Creator and my God.

I render Thee the homage of my being and my life.

I am not my own,

I am Thine.

By creation and redemption

I am Thine.

I will devote myself to Thy divine service

this day and forever.

O grant me grace for this, dear Lord.

Amen

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.