Archive for the ‘Grace In Motion’ Tag
“Grace That Goes First!”
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“We love because He first loved us.” —1 John 4:19 (CSB)
Before you ever moved toward God, He moved toward you. Before you repented, before you prayed, before you even believed, He had already set His love upon you. THAT’S GRACE!
“God does not wait for man to turn to Him; He goes to meet him.”—Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics IV/2, p. 752
In Christ, the Father and the Spirit ran to embrace humanity: fallenness, rebellion, shame and all. Jesus didn’t wait for us to get it together. He stepped into our mess. The Spirit didn’t demand we earn His presence. He was poured out freely. The Father didn’t withhold His love until we deserved it. He gave us His Son while we were still enemies. “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8 (CSB)
This is grace: God didn’t wait for you to change. In Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, He came to change you by love.
“God does not wait for us to believe or behave before including us in His grace. In Jesus, He already has.”—Gary Deddo, Clarifying Our Theological Vision, GCI.org
God is not keeping His distance, waiting for you to fix yourself. He has already come near, already included you, already begun the work of making you whole in Jesus Christ. The cross isn’t a symbol of what we must do for God; it’s the declaration of what He has already done for us and with us.
The love of the Trinity is not reluctant, it is relentless.
The Father ran to meet us.
The Son gave His life for us.
The Spirit came to dwell within us.
Three Persons, one God, moving together in love to bring us home. “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” —Ephesians 2:18 (CSB)
So now the question becomes:
Who do you need to pursue today, not because they’ve earned it, but because God pursued you? Maybe someone has hurt you. Maybe they’ve drifted. Maybe you’ve distanced yourself, waiting for them to make the first move. But what if grace calls you to go first, not in your own strength, but with the strength of Christ and by the Spirit who lives in you.
Let your life reflect the rhythm of the Triune God: ✨ A love that doesn’t wait. ✨ A grace that goes first.
Prayer
Lord,
You loved me before I ever reached for You.
You came near when I was far, and gave Yourself without waiting for change.
Thank You for pursuing me with grace.
Now help me do the same.
Where I’m tempted to hold back, let me move forward in love.
Where I want to wait, give me courage to go first.
Let my life reflect the mercy You’ve shown me.
Make me a witness of Your grace in motion.
Amen.