By Grace Alone

“But by God’s grace I am what I am, but His grace toward me was not ineffective.” (1 Corinthians 15:10 CSB)

Some folks tend to think of themselves as “a good person” basically, or at least we would like to see ourselves that way.

Paul undoubtedly saw himself as a good person who was trying to live life rightly in the years when he was known as Saul. He kept the law scrupulously. He even sought perfection in law-keeping. No one exceeded his zeal. He was so convinced of his own goodness that he believed he was fully justified in the imprisonment and destruction of Christians. One day on the Damascus Road, however, Saul came to understand two truths: 1) how not good he really was, and 2) how really good is the grace of God. Saul went on to discover the power and effectiveness of the grace of God in transforming a life from what it is to what it can be.

The reality is that it is no different for us. In spite of any level of goodness we may have achieved in our lives, apart from the grace of God it is worthless. We can never of our own merits achieve a “good enough” status before the God who is Absolute Holiness. That simply cannot happen.

The only hope we have for being considered “good” is the grace of God. We are considered right and good only when our sins are covered over or wiped out by the blood of Christ. Then, His grace goes to work in our lives transforming us day by day into something of great beauty. There is no beauty that can compare to the beauty of a life transformed by the powerful grace of God. It is only by God’s grace that we are what we are now and what we will ultimately become.

Father, Today may Your grace transform us more and more into the image of Christ. Amen.