The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. (1 Corinthians 13:14)
The grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Does it get any better? When we have a relationship with God, we have come to God the Father through Jesus, and we received the Holy Spirit. We could get into all sorts of doctrine about the timing and requirements involved in our relationship with God, but instead of spending our time today trying to explain, let’s savor the experience, truth, and blessings of our relationship with Him.
A faithful relationship with God involves grace. Jesus Christ has the ability to see us as we really are. He sees the dirt. He sees the intentions. He sees our heart and our attitudes. He sees our past, present, and future, and He doesn’t use any of it to excuse us. He knows, He cares, and He provides. Because He was willing to take on all the junk of our lives, die on the cross, and overcome death after three days in the tomb, we receive grace when we go to Him and accept who we are without Him. When we accept the fullness of who Jesus is, we receive what we could never earn. Grace is unmerited. Through grace, we are forgiven. We step into a freedom to fully live the life God intends for us—not just on earth but beyond.
The reason we have grace through Jesus is because of God’s love. He loves us enough that He sacrificed His only Son. If there was another way, surely, He would have known about it. But God doesn’t take the easy way. God’s love doesn’t seek easy. Nothing as powerful as God’s love can. So, we have grace, and we have love: perfect, unfathomable, and unending love. We’ve been digging into God’s love day after day, and we still cannot easily, succinctly sum up God’s love. Love is God’s. God is love. And He lavishes us with it. He fills us to overflowing so that we can love others in the same way God loves us.
God loves and gives grace in relationship. We have fellowship with God, because He created us for relationship. He wants connection, because He knows it’s the only way to live a full, purposeful life. Fellowship is fulfilling to Him and to us. And it’s necessary for us. We have the Holy Spirit within us as believers to teach and guide us. He comforts us, and through our relationship, we have sweet fellowship. It’s through fellowship that we abide in God’s presence and yield to Him as He cultivates us, producing such fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Holy Spirit guides, protects, comforts, teaches, and leads us.
The fullness of relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit…the fullness of love, grace, and fellowship…It is yours. It is mine. It is God’s. It is ours.
Dear God, thank You for Your love, grace, and fellowship. Thank You for our relationship. I can’t really fathom it most of the time. My mind can’t comprehend Your pursuit of me. I can’t know all the many ways You provide for and guide me, but I can appreciate Your vastness. My heart is full with You, and I know You provide a fullness that goes beyond what I can imagine. I commit to continuing to seek and serve You. I want to grow in my relationship with You. Every step of the way, I will savor Your grace, love, and fellowship.