By Sue Maakestad

Take a look inside any trophy case, and your admiration will never focus on a medal, a jersey, or a loving cup, but on the achievement of the athlete who gave it all on the playing field to win it.

When folks look at us and see God at work in and through us, in spite of who we are, they realize that we are trophies of God’s grace.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Our weak humanity is the showcase for God’s awesome power. That’s grace!

The Bible says that when we were still enemies of God, He gave it all for us through the death of His Son. We didn’t deserve it then, we sure don’t now, and we never will – and Romans 8:32 says that along with that ultimate gift, He freely gives us all things, because now we’re His spoiled kids. That’s grace!

Paul says he is proud of his weakness because it puts God’s strength on display: “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (1 Corinthians 12:9).

What? I get more grace when I’m weak? Well, bring on the weakness!

Notice the caveat here, though: all this grace and favor and power from God rests on us when we are reproached, distressed, and persecuted for the sake of Christ. When we are contending for The Faith: preserving it in its original form, and delivering it to others as we go forth as ambassadors for Christ… and The Faith is all about The Grace.

Listen to Paul’s description of the faith in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Here is the grand escape plan that God’s love cooked up to rescue us from Satan’s clutches in spite of our mess. Not because we are anything, but because He is everything!

Not because we could ever deserve it, but simply because He loves us. That’s grace!
God’s love is never lavished on us because of what we do, but in spite of what we do. Grace!

Like Paul, my ultimate proof that God can save anyone is this: He saved me!

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all – yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Now, it goes without saying that God doesn’t need us in order to pull off His purpose to carry His love to the ends of the earth – but He values us enough to include us as key players in His magnificent plan. Grace!

And don’t forget that your testimony is a very big part of that, as you hold up the Light of the World against the present darkness. Don’t ever stop telling your story and His!

“And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).

God’s grace and favor smiling upon us – making us what we are in Him in spite of who we aren’t – is what makes the Gospel such a powerful testimony to the world.

This confounds the human mind that has been taught that we must somehow earn our way back to God through a series of religious exercises; that God is sitting on a cloud this very moment with a lightning bolt that has your name on it, just waiting for you to make a mistake. Not!

If we could hop, skip, and jump our way through all those religious hoops to cross the heavenly finish line, then why would God have to send His beloved Son to suffer and die for our sins?

“For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). God makes it easy. He doesn’t want us jumping through hoops to reach Him. Would you do that to your kids? No, because you love them and want them to run into your arms. Why would you want to make that difficult for them? Why would He?

Philippians 2:15-16 says: “That you may be blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life.”

Two things about this verse: 1) Blameless and harmless and without fault simply aren’t things that humans can pull off by themselves, so God did it for us. Grace!

2) He wants us to tell the world what He did for us so He can do it for them, too. More grace!

Jesus, the Light of the World, is in you. That’s what makes you the light of the world. Let it shine! “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5: 14-16).

We are to reflect His glory and grace like a searchlight blazing far into the night sky. The blacker the darkness, the brighter the light shines against the godless chaos of this world. “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

The light of your testimony is this: God’s love is poured out upon the undeserving – which means everybody. Can we earn it? Nope. Never have; never will. Grace!

His strength is showcased in our weakness – which is pretty much all we have to offer. Grace!

We don’t have to earn His love: when we were still His enemies, He had already poured out the last drop for us. We aren’t required to do a thing but accept this great gift from His extended hand, and be whisked into His arms and into His royal family. How could this be??

It’s all about the grace.