Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Privilege and Responsibility of Invitation

“For it is by grace you have been saved, though faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. -- Ephesians 2:8

It is only through the grace of God, not our good works, not our human determination, or even through our will, that we gain full access to the riches and fullness of God. The only thing we did to receive this gift was to accept the gift. The grace of God was poured out for all humanity in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and is offered to every single person. Many of you reading this might have not only heard about the grace of God, but you have chosen to accept the gift. Still more of you may have gone from acceptance to living fully a life of grace. All who have accepted this grace are called to share the gift. Grace, while given to each person, is not only for the one person. As Christ Followers, those who have accepted the gift, there is a great privilege in inviting others to experience the grace of God first hand. A grace relationship with God through Jesus Christ is not something that we are to merely soak in the glory of. We are not to be selfish with what God has done through Christ. Not only is it our privilege to share the grace of God it is our responsibility. Part of being a Christ Follower is to act as Christ did, and that is to extend the grace of God to all people.

Establishing a grace relationship with God through Christ is not something we did. It is impossible for us to do enough good things to receive grace. It is a gift from God. It is not from us, and only for us. It is from God and for all people. There are many ways for people to experience this gift, one of the ways is through the church. I want to invite you to be praying about, and looking for people that you can share the grace of God with. Invite them to experience the grace God has freely given to all of us.