God's grace - an important message on Good Friday and any other day

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, ... (Genesis 1:27-28)

When grace is used in the Bible, it stands for something that is completely free for the one who receives it. Not only is it free, but it is also completely undeserved. Romans chapter 11 says in verse 6: "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace". This means that if there is the slightest part of works in it, it is no longer grace. Grace is pure grace; if it were not, grace would no longer be grace.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." This is probably the most known scripture of the Bible. The coming of Jesus Christ was caused by God's love. It does not say anything about people deserving Jesus Christ to come and give us everlasting life. We did not deserve Him to come, but God loved us so much that He gave Him to us anyway. That is grace.

Despite this, many people believe that they have to do something themselves to please God. But even when we go to the first book of the Bible, we discover grace. What did God do when having created Adam and Eve? Did He tell them what to do to be loved by Him? No, Genesis chapter 1 says in verse 28 that God blessed them. In Ephesians chapter 1, it says in verse 3 that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

What does this teach us about God? It teaches us that God wants only the very best for us. The first thing He did to the first human beings, was to bless them. Later, He sent His own Son to us so that we should have everlasting life. Not because we deserve it due to our own works, but only by believing in Jesus Christ. And when believing in Jesus Christ, that He took all our sins on Himself and died on our behalf on Good Friday about 2,000 years ago, we do not have just a few blessings from God  -  no, we have every spiritual blessing.

Therefore, be richly blessed  -  and Happy Easter!