The Grace-Giver

I haven't done anything to warrant God's grace.
I am not perfect.
I screw up and sin.
His grace isn't my reward for being good ~ if it was so, I wouldn't get it.
Which makes the gift all about the Giver and not about me.

Grace is all about the Grace-Giver.

It points to the goodness of God ~ His great character. His mercy. His forgiveness. His love. His compassion.

He. Is. Good.

Whether or not there are good things happening in my life at the moment.
~ He is good.
Whether or not good things happened in the past.
~ He is good.
Whether or not other people are good to me.
~ He is good.
Whether or not I am good to others.
~ He is good.

He. Is. Good.

But within the covering of grace is the awareness of our choices and decisions that we still make.
The gift of God is grace.
The response of our hearts is on us.
How we respond is not to be taken lightly. Grace doesn't end with the gift.

"Do we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" (Rom. 6:1, NIV)

By no means!
Of course not! (NLT)
May it never be! (NASB)
God forbid! (KJV)
Absolutely not! (CSB)
Certainly not! (GNT)
That's unthinkable! (GWT)

Different Bible translations, but the meaning is strong and definite.

Grace does not give permission to behave badly.
Forgiveness isn't the ticket to live-as-you-please.
Because sin, even forgiven, affects other people. Deeply.

The purpose of grace is not for us to hide behind it. Not for us to sweep our sins under it and pretend they never happened. Not for us to wear grace-blinders.

Grace offers us a clean slate, a new life.
But it does not permit us to pretend the effects of our sin don't matter.
Because people matter. Relationships matter.
And unfortunately, our sin affects other people.
Yes, God forgives. Praise God!
Yes, grace is given. Thank you, Jesus!
But repentance and turning from sin need to be our response. Changed behaviors need to become our new life.

God forgives sin.
That's an absolute truth.
But our response needs to respect that forgiveness, that grace, and choose to live in a way that loves, turning from sin, living for Him.
It's our choice what we do with the gift. It is there for our taking either way. But out of our love for the Gift-Giver, our hearts need to line up with His. 

Praise God for His grace. His eternal hope. His forgiveness and cleansing of sin.

He. Is. Good.