PARTAKERS OF MY GRACE
In my bonds—reaching to the very end of my limitations for Christ, and then finding His grace sufficient—even abundant—to finish out my quest of serving Him; in defending the Gospel—realizing it is not just winning a theological argument, but it is letting the grace of God show out through me in a way that cannot be argued against; in confirming the Gospel—by grace, living a new life for Christ that is a result of His working in me, not just a reformation to a new set of rules: drawing constantly on the grace of God not just for show, but often for my very survival, and always for His pleasure and glory.
God can use the display of grace working in my life to encourage others to also dedicate themselves to a more determined life for Christ. The believers at Philippi, seeing that Paul’s dedication to Christ led him to an important decision—was he going to give in to the Jewish and Roman authorities, and go free; or was he going to simply, humbly, stand for Christ, even though there would be consequences to face. They could see the decision he made, and the grace of God that upheld him, and they were encouraged to do the same. The conflict that was in Paul also became their conflict; and the grace that worked in Paul was also the grace that worked in them.
Parents and grandparents especially need to model before their children a life sustained by the grace of God. Our children don’t need to see us always ‘on top of things’. They need to see us in all our reality, with our struggles, our heartbreaks, our good days and bad days. But, in all this, they need to see us constantly coming back to Christ for forgiveness, for renewal, and for strength. They need to see God’s grace active in our lives, so that they can ’partake’ of it, and make it part of their own lives.
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:8
