I reached for a can of tuna the other day and absently read the label: Net Wt, 5 ounces. I can remember, and actually have recipes calling for a 7½ ounce can of tuna. I also remember 1 pound bags of coffee and 7 ounce bars of soap.
What happened? The manufacturers attempted to camouflage rising prices by putting less product in similar size containers for the same price. That morning I must have strained a full ounce of water from that 5 ounce can of tuna. I needed nearly two cans to make the same amount as 30 years ago. Eventually of course, the prices did rise. I can remember tuna for 29 cents a can. Either way, we get less for more.
That makes it even more amazing that the most expensive commodity on earth, the one that cost the death of the Son of God, is free. To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved, Eph 1:6.
I can recall hearing only one sermon on grace when I was a child. I guess that is why I remember it. I can even remember the building I was sitting in. We have too long ignored the fact that we are saved by grace because we are so afraid someone will think we believe in something unscriptural. Grace is one of the most scriptural topics there is!
But now that I hear more about the grace of God, I am noticing a different problem—we limit the grace of God to forgiveness.
Grace is there to help us live our lives as well. Paul says that when he prayed to Christ to rid him of his “thorn in the flesh,” Christ’s answer was, My grace is sufficient, 2 Cor 12:9. In other words, I will help you bear this burden.
Christ went on to say, for my power is made perfect in weakness. As long as I try to handle things alone I will never make it. But when I make myself weak, allowing Christ to take care of me, I can handle anything. Therefore, Paul adds, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And there lies our problem: we so often will not let Him help us. We refuse, in the popular parlance, “to turn it over to God.” We keep trying to help ourselves to the point that we do not even see the help He has offered. If it does not match our wants, if it does not look like the help we have envisioned, if it still involves bearing any burden at all, it can’t be grace, and so we miss out, and have only ourselves to blame.
God says He will help. What else is it but grace that promises, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it, 1 Cor 10:13? If I do not endure, if I do not overcome, it is because I do not have faith in the grace of God. And that will have a huge impact because if I cannot trust it to help me through this life, how can I trust it to forgive me?
If we are willing to accept it, God will not hold back this gift. He will not decrease the amount of grace He gives. He will, in fact, increase it as we have need. My grace is sufficient.
Or maybe it’s just that God’s grace in any amount is far more powerful than any need we can ever imagine.
If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul, Psa 94:17-19.
Dene Ward
What happened? The manufacturers attempted to camouflage rising prices by putting less product in similar size containers for the same price. That morning I must have strained a full ounce of water from that 5 ounce can of tuna. I needed nearly two cans to make the same amount as 30 years ago. Eventually of course, the prices did rise. I can remember tuna for 29 cents a can. Either way, we get less for more.
That makes it even more amazing that the most expensive commodity on earth, the one that cost the death of the Son of God, is free. To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved, Eph 1:6.
I can recall hearing only one sermon on grace when I was a child. I guess that is why I remember it. I can even remember the building I was sitting in. We have too long ignored the fact that we are saved by grace because we are so afraid someone will think we believe in something unscriptural. Grace is one of the most scriptural topics there is!
But now that I hear more about the grace of God, I am noticing a different problem—we limit the grace of God to forgiveness.
Grace is there to help us live our lives as well. Paul says that when he prayed to Christ to rid him of his “thorn in the flesh,” Christ’s answer was, My grace is sufficient, 2 Cor 12:9. In other words, I will help you bear this burden.
Christ went on to say, for my power is made perfect in weakness. As long as I try to handle things alone I will never make it. But when I make myself weak, allowing Christ to take care of me, I can handle anything. Therefore, Paul adds, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And there lies our problem: we so often will not let Him help us. We refuse, in the popular parlance, “to turn it over to God.” We keep trying to help ourselves to the point that we do not even see the help He has offered. If it does not match our wants, if it does not look like the help we have envisioned, if it still involves bearing any burden at all, it can’t be grace, and so we miss out, and have only ourselves to blame.
God says He will help. What else is it but grace that promises, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it, 1 Cor 10:13? If I do not endure, if I do not overcome, it is because I do not have faith in the grace of God. And that will have a huge impact because if I cannot trust it to help me through this life, how can I trust it to forgive me?
If we are willing to accept it, God will not hold back this gift. He will not decrease the amount of grace He gives. He will, in fact, increase it as we have need. My grace is sufficient.
Or maybe it’s just that God’s grace in any amount is far more powerful than any need we can ever imagine.
If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul, Psa 94:17-19.
Dene Ward
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