Accept God's abounding grace through salvation

My little sister, Margaret Grace, succumbed to COVID on Dec. 22, 2020, while in a nursing home in Hazard, Kentucky, near where we spent most of my childhood and she spent nearly all her life.

While I knew her first name came from a longtime family friend, I never knew where she got her middle name. My father’s sister passed away right before Thanksgiving. I don’t recall ever meeting her because she and my father were estranged over her husband, which is really sad, but I learned her middle name was “Grace” when I read her obituary.

So, I emailed my siblings asking if Margaret might have gotten our aunt’s middle name. My oldest brother thought it probably came from the same family friend, but my older sister said our mother had told her the middle name came from another friend who stood with her at their wedding.

After reading that response, I responded, “Good grief! There’s grace all over the place! Well, but that’s nothing to grieve about.”

Grace comes from God and is abundant (Exodus 33:12-23; 34:5-7; Romans). God’s grace abounds to all people everywhere, even the wicked (Isaiah 26:10; Matthew 5:43-45; Romans 5:6). God’s demonstration of grace (and love) became complete when Jesus came to earth, which we’re now celebrating, to eventually give up his life to gain victory over sin and death, providing forgiveness and reconciliation with God to all who believe, which makes me glad (John 1:1-17; Ephesians 1:2-14; Colossians 1:1-23).

Belief itself is even a gift from God to be acted upon in obedience by each individual for God’s grace to abound as they turn from their sinful life through baptism to receive God’s Holy Spirit as the deposit toward their eternal inheritance (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 18:27; 19:1-5; 2:38-39; Romans 6:1-11). Baptism is when one gains access to God’s grace, becomes justified and made righteous, being no longer under control of their sinful nature (Romans 3:21-26; 5:1-5, 12-21; 8:9-17).

Crucifying our sinful nature through baptism doesn’t set aside God’s grace and is necessary to belong to Christ because that’s how righteousness is fulfilled, and they become God’s child (Galatians 2:20-21; 5:24-25; Matthew 3:13-17). God, then, comes to know us under the new covenant (Exodus 33:17; Galatians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 8:3; John 14:15-21; 15:9-10; 1 John 4:7; 2:3-6; 5:1-3).

We must be careful, then, to not neglect our salvation, which nullifies God’s grace toward us (Hebrews 2:1-4; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Ephesians 4:1-7). We must remain in God’s grace to participate in God’s glory (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Remember, God’s grace has been poured out even on the wicked to show he can save anyone who comes to him in faith and repentance, confessing and calling on his name (1 Timothy 1:12-17; Romans 10:8-13; Acts 22:16).

If you haven’t already accepted God’s abounding grace through salvation, why not do that now and really enjoy this season of remembering Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8-14; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 1:8-9)? Email me with any questions.

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected].