Grace or Jesus? 
by Mike Rule

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace… For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:14, 16&17)"

There are so many things I hear about grace that leave me asking, "But what about Jesus?" I sometimes wonder if I am spiritually autistic because at times it is almost an obsession, but not one that I have set out to have. Here is what I mean. Any attribute of God taken out of the context of the person of Jesus Christ can become our god. Grace is a person, yet grace can also be a concept taken out of context and as a result become an end in itself. Some might say I am picking nits and being reactionary, but I often hear more about grace than I ever hear about Jesus.

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines GRACE as "favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what that person deserves. Grace is one of the key attributes of God. The Lord God is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth" (Ex. 34:6). Therefore, grace is almost always associated with mercy, love, compassion, and patience… The grace of God was supremely revealed and given in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus was not only the beneficiary of God's grace (Luke 2:40), but was also its very embodiment (John 1:14), bringing it to humankind for salvation (Titus 2:11). By His death and resurrection, Jesus restored the broken fellowship between God and His people, both Jew and Gentile. The only way of salvation for any person is "through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:11)."

When grace is a person's god, it is evidenced by ungracious attitudes. If you are self-righteous you are offended at un-righteousness. If you are into grace, you are offended at self-righteousness. If you are into Jesus, you love... and are offended at nothing. When you are into Jesus, grace is displayed to all men regardless of their spiritual condition. It is obvious that grace is god when there is an attitude of being legalistically anti-legalistic, self-righteously anti-self-righteous, and judgmentally anti-judgmental. I can only recognize it because it runs so deep within me, but I pray that I do not become ungraciously anti-grace.

I am called to proclaim what I have seen and what I have heard, but I am ever reminded that if I lose sight of Jesus in the telling, if people do not see the very life of Christ flowing through my words and my life (in attitude and action) then I have only become part of the problem. May God have mercy on me according to His abundant provision. If I have not love, I am nothing.