He has said to me, (Paul) "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."  Grace is a beautiful word when it is directed toward us from God!  Isn’t it nice to know that God’s Grace is all you ever need, that it is even perfected when we are at our weakest?  Beyond that, it is something we don’t even deserve and it is a free gift from our God who created us and loves us unconditionally. 

 

Apostle Paul is an example of God’s Grace.  1 Timothy 12-16 tells how Paul used to persecute Christians, blaspheme the name of Christ and even held the coats of the others that stoned Stephen.  He was bad news for the upstart Christian movement.  BUT by the Grace of God’s Mercy, Paul became a prime example of God’s great patience with even the worst sinners. 

 

In Ephesians 2:5 it states that even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.  The gift of salvation is the greatest example of God’s Grace to us unworthy sinners.  Amazing Grace, My chains are gone…….

 

Even though the Bible says that the Grace of God is s free gift, that there is nothing we can do to deserve it, it does require some actions on your part.  In the Amazing Grace song the line goes, How precious did the Grace appear, the hour I first believed.  So you have to put your faith in Jesus Christ and be a believer.  Once you are a follower of Christ, God’s Grace and the Holy Spirit will guide you into good works. 

 

So this might be one of those, which came first things.  Does surrender to and faith in Jesus Christ bring the abundant Grace and Forgiveness of God, or like in Paul’s case, does the Grace of God bring you to your knees to accept and submit to Christ?  We’re probably just splitting hairs here because I do know that the Holy Spirit has a way of bringing someone to repentance after which the Grace of God is abundant.  Whichever way it is, it is good to be right with God.