Thursday, September 15, 2011

grace as far as the eye can see




He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
2 Samuel 22:20

David rejoiced in the incredible experience of God's grace. He experienced it in almost every category of his life, even while still a boy. It made him who he was. It made him the kind of king that he was as well.

David's poetic description of that grace is profound. It gives me insight into God's care for me right now. God's desire to save us, to rescue us, is in no way restrictive. Instead, it is meant to give us the kind of freedom He made us to enjoy with Him. David says that God brought Him out into "a broad place". There was plenty of room to enjoy all the good things God was giving him. Grace is not constricting... it is liberating.

I know that kind of liberation in Christ, and in many ways, I know it to a greater degree (at least from a New Testament perspective) than David could have ever imagined. I have the capacity to do what is right. Not on my own, but through the enabling of the Holy Spirit and the equipping of God's Word. The real rescue that I can live is what Jesus brought to the world. It is a rescue from the worst effects of sin. It is a rescue from the worst defects of self. And I am a new creation in Christ, set free to wander the vast expanse of the new frontier of God's grace!

God delights in His children. David could sing of that despite all the hardships and the discipline that he had received for his sin. God was good and God is not out to make life miserable. He delights in us and that is why grace is offered to us. I am a child that God loves. That is a profound truth and the very best way to define myself.


- Prepare your minds for action.
1 Peter 1:13

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