‘Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ‘
Romans 5:1-2
I grew up in an amazing Christian home with every opportunity to understand and grow as a young believer but somehow I wasn’t perfect — go figure. I’d try to be good, I’d succeed for a while, and then I’d stumble and fall. Then I would repeat this process again and again. No matter how hard I tried I still messed up and the more time I spent thinking about my Christian life the more sin I found lurking in my soul. I was in my first year of Bible college and I started studying the Bible seriously for the first time. Beyond getting homework done I made it may aim to unlock the key to spiritual success.
One day during my studies I found a description of grace that shifted my perspective. I had heard that grace stood for unmerited favor but the description I was reading pointed out the absurdity of favor without action (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia “Grace”). In other words, God’s favor is always accompanied by action. Grace is the power of God directed at us. I needed grace to overcome my human frailty. I began a new search on how I could get more of this grace stuff. For several weeks I fervently studied every text I could find about Grace.
I remember an almost frantic longing to access grace. It was then that I read the words, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” The truth finally broke through — I was standing in grace. As I read those words in my college lunch room I saw myself standing on an ocean of grace. Here I was franticly searching for grace and I was standing in the stuff. God is not stingy with his grace. I finally realized what was beneath my feet: an ocean of grace. And I finally looked down. Grace is not accessed by a formula but by a recognition of one’s need (humility). I knew I needed it and God gave it in such quantities that I could drown in it if I needed to. To this day, grace is one of the sweetest Christian truths to my soul.
Have you ever felt that grace? What areas of your life could use a little grace? Picture yourself carrying those things out into the ocean of God’s grace. Grace is not hard to access; it’s making your shoes and socks wet. Dive into it, the water is fine.
By Aaron Bjorklund
