for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the
grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1Peter 1:9 For you are receiving the goal of
your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Christ Jesus rejoices in giving us good gifts. His greatest gift, our salvation, is wrapped in the sweet promise of grace. God's grace is sufficient to cover the worst, most painful sins. He, our Lord, showed us the way of grace. He showed us how to offer grace to others by the way he lived. He offered grace and forgiveness to the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery. He gave grace to Paul after he persecuted
His, God's, people.
He lifted up before the religious leaders an example of what they should be giving. Instead, they chose to give books of laws and rules and restrictions. Jesus showed us a better way by fulfilling the laws and asking us to follow Him because of love, not because of threats and demands.
Jesus promised us grace because He knew us from before we were formed in our mother's womb. He knew we would be weak and need His strength. He knew we would slip and fall and fail. But He and the Father knew that the debt we would incur would be paid. Our Lord had set in place grace for any and all who would choose it.
Jesus will not force on us the promise of His grace. He offers it freely. We can choose to accept the promise of His grace or we can go our own way. We can choose to take our chances. Most who don't know the Lord, don't believe we will stand before Him one day to account for our choices and actions.
I, for one, choose grace as my promise from Him. I will stand on the promise that, once forgiven, my sins are banished forever. I will wait for His praise on my life as He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant".