Lavish Grace

Ephesians 1:7-8

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us."

Grace in the Greek is charis - it means unmerited or undeserved favor.

Lavish is the Greek verb perisseuo which means to superabound, to be in excess. The Greek lexicon explains it this way: to furnish one richly so that he has abundance. Here in Ephesians God performed the action, it is a statement of fact with no regard to the past, present or future time. This is a reality in the believer's life... God lavished the riches of His grace upon us. WOW!

Recently I have been studying God's grace, I am overwhelmed by the lavishness of it! God sent His Son to be the propitiation for my sins, He redeemed me by His blood, He has forgiven my trespasses. He did that while I was yet a sinner (Rom. 5:8), at enmity with Him. Christ broke down the dividing wall between myself and God (Eph. 2:13-16). Truly all undeserved by a sinner such as I.

"Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within.
Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all my sin."

As I ponder the vastness of the grace of God, I begin to get a glimpse of the outworking of His grace in my life. Although salvation is more than enough - it is super-abundant - His sanctification in my life has been abundance on top of abundance.

How many times has He forgiven me? Countless times and without hesitation.
What has He forgiven me? Limitless things- every sin I bring to the foot of His cross is forgiven.
Where am I now compared to 5 years ago? Ten years ago? Walking more and more in His grace by His grace... I am so dramatically changed because of His grace.
Who am I? Chosen by God in Christ (Eph. 1:4, John 15:16), predestined to adoption as sons through Christ (Eph. 1:5), accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6), joint heir with Jesus (Rom. 8:17).

Any one of these things is cause for rejoicing and awe. I know that I know God's grace in my life because nothing could accomplish in me what God's grace has accomplished. Because that grace is so freely given, lavishly given, how can I not extend grace to those around me? What right have I to withhold grace from others when I have been so abundantly supplied?

A parable comes to mind in answer to this question...remember the parable of the unforgiving servant?

In Matthew 18, Christ is talking to Peter about forgiveness and He tells Peter about a king who began to settle accounts with his servants. One servant in particular possibly owed more than he might ever be able to pay in his lifetime - ten thousand talents. The king ordered that he be sold as well as his wife and children to settle the debt. But the servant begged mercy of the king, begging his patience. Not only did the king release the servant but he forgave him the entire debt. The king had every right to the payment but chose to forgive it all.

The story doesn't end there though. That same servant, the receiver of much grace (undeserved favor), goes to another servant who owed him a pittance compared to what he had just been forgiven and demands immediate payment. He not only demanded it, he took that fellow servant by the throat and threatened him. When that man begged for mercy, he was denied and sent to debtors prison until he could repay. When the king heard of it, he was angry and delivered the wicked servant to the torturers until he could repay saying, "Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?" (Matt. 18:33)

So what is the answer to, "What right have I to withhold grace from others when I have been so abundantly supplied?" NONE, I have no right to withhold grace from anyone because the grace I received is not mine, it is a gift from God richly poured out on me. I have not done anything to merit grace - it is completely undeserved by me. Therefore, it is my obligation to pour out grace on others in Christ's name - not under durress but out of abundance. Freely He has given, freely we need to give - it's His grace we give. Let us walk in the abundance that is already ours spreading that abundance as we go.

Oh Precious Jesus, how You have so lavishly poured out Your grace on me through Your death on the cross. You have cancelled the debt I owe that I could never repay by Your blood. Help me today to walk in that abundant grace and to be a source of that grace to everyone around me. Help me to see myself as I truly am, a sinner saved by Your grace, not of myself lest I should boast. I love You Lord, Amen.