Grace Is All There Is
We can never get enough grace.
If there’s such a thing as a favorite theologian, Martin Luther tops my list. A sixteenth-century German monk, Luther stumbled upon the concept of grace while reading the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans: “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17, KJV).
Up until that time, Luther had spent his life trying to atone for his own sins, beating himself and spending hours on his knees confessing his sins, and then agonizing in case he forgot one.
But once the light bulb went on and he realized that it truly is by grace alone that we are saved and by grace alone that we live, he became one of the greatest grace teachers of all time. The just shall live by faith, which comes solely by grace.
As the story goes, someone once said to Luther, “Grace, grace, grace, all you ever talk about is grace.”
To which Luther replied, “That’s because grace is all there is.”
I don’t know if that’s a true story about LutherI heard it in a sermon once. If it’s not true about Luther’s conversation, it’s still a true statement about grace.
Grace is all there is.
Excerpted from Lipstick Grace by Nancy Kennedy
Daily Reflection:
In what specific ways has God’s grace changed your life?