Our faith journey begins by grace, progresses in grace, and triumphs with grace. But grace is not merely a value, an idea, a life-principle, a mindset; nor a word for a quick prayer before each meal.
Neither is it a synonym for a “better-ask-for-forgiveness-than-permission” posture; and, hopefully, it never becomes a Christian cliché or jargon, a license to do whatever we want, a guilt-laden or shame-induced triggered word that makes us feel better when we failed to live the life as God intended.
Grace is God’s unmerited, extravagant outpouring of His self-giving, life-renewing, and community-transforming love, without any regard to the worth or worthiness of the individual recipient.
And as we continue in this Advent season, we are reminded that the coming or appearing of God-in-flesh in Jesus is a grace-shaped mission.
