The Freedom of Grace

“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” (Galatians 3:23-25 NIV)

In the past couple of months, the postal service has returned several letters to my ministry’s office that were sent to a supporting church.  I called a friend who is an elder at the church to find out if we had the wrong address.  Sure enough, we did.  Instead of the street number being 11221, it was 11231.  Only one number off and probably only a few doors down from where we intended to send it.  Now my question is, why couldn’t the postal carrier just deliver the letter and let us know of the error in the address?

But that would have been an act of grace and the postal service, like all institutions, operates under rules.  To me, it is a reminder of how blessed we are, as followers of Jesus, to live under grace rather than the law.  Under law, even the slightest deviation is never overlooked and always has a consequence.  There is never a “don’t worry about that; we’ll take care of it” attitude.  Under law, life is lived with an attempt at full awareness of every action and in fear of every consequence. There are no breaks or do- overs.  No wonder Paul describes those under the law as prisoners.  

Grace, however, sets the prisoners free.  No longer do we live under the threat of the consequences of sin.  No longer is it looming over us, watching every move we make.  Instead, grace beckons us to resist sin because of the love we have received, and provides us with a safety net when we fail.  

Today, if you are a follower of Jesus, rejoice in the freedom you having living under God’s grace.  And if you are not, know that you, too, can be set free from the oppressive life under the law.  Jesus came to set you free, and if He sets you free, you will be free indeed.

© Jim Musser 2017