Agents of Grace

DEVOTION

SPECIAL THOUGHTS ON GRACE

We are more than beneficiaries of God’s grace, we are supposed to be agents of grace

It is one thing for us to know the grace of God in our lives, but then we have to determine just which grace is being spoken of here. First we have received the grace of God, as it is defined as unmerited favor. This is the Greek word Charisma, which is used seventeen times throughout the entire New Testament. Perhaps the most famous verse where this word is used is:

Rom 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV

This then would read the wages of sin is death; but the divine gratuity i.e. deliverance (specifically a spiritual endowment.) This is the unmerited type of favor.

However the word grace also comes from another Greek word which is used over one hundred and thirty times throughout the New Testament.

This Greek word is Charis and it is defined mostly as the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives.

John 1:17

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

KJV

So then this reads, for the law was given by Moses, but the divine influence upon our heart and truth came by Jesus Christ. In so many of the verses where we read this word grace, we can insert this definition and get a far richer understanding of what is meant and how that relates to our lives.

Then when we consider the premise statement that we are more than beneficiaries of his divine influence upon our hearts, but we are agents of that influence, it is reflected in our lives and we are agents, we share, we give, we are used by God to share his grace, his divine influence with others. They are able to enjoy his grace, his influence through our lives. This bares truth as if we would to look at our lives as water. It can be withheld within, as a cistern would, or it could flow from us as a river, or a spring of living water flowing out of us.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Israel about forsaking the Lord, the spring of living water and spoke about how they were like cisterns, but broken that cannot hold water.

We can see if we want to just keep the Lord for ourselves, just want to be recipients of grace, and know it is for us and we are so grateful, but we try to keep this water for ourselves. It becomes stagnant, and stinky.  

Jer 2:13

13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

NIV

But we can see that when we believe, streams of living water will flow from within us, it flows out, it overflows our banks and effects everything around us.

John 7:38-39

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

NIV

So let us be agents of God’s divine influence upon our hearts, let the influence overflow our banks, flood the whole area around us, effecting everyone in our presence.