Grace #7—Forever Grace

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, graciously united us with the risen Christ so that in the ages to come he might prove the infinite riches of his grace by useful kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4–7

After withstanding Satan’s efforts to deflate him, Jesus came roaring out of the desert like a sirocco. He announced that the kingdom of God was now ready to welcome all who would cease their rebellion against God and pledge themselves to follow Jesus in the obedience of faith. Then he proved his royal authority by delivering people from physical and spiritual bondage and by declaring the forgiveness of sin. Finally God raised Jesus from the dead in a new and glorified body and exalted him to his side. By these exhibitions of grace, Jesus gave us a glimpse of how God would exercise his power for his people once the promise of the kingdom is completely fulfilled. Dramatic as these demonstrations of grace are, we can anticipate more from Jesus than deliverance from destructive processes—we must remember that his first miracle was changing water into wine. In the age to come, when we all have new, non-corruptible bodies like his, we can expect wine-like grace instead of healing-from-disease-like grace. While we will still be needy, finite beings, we will be recipients of an endless stream of creative expressions of God’s wisdom and power: from him to each of us, and through us to one another, so that among all of us the knowledge of God’s glory will fill the earth.

Lord Jesus, as I live in anticipation of this new life, may I learn now to taste and see how good you are at making life worth living.