The thought that hit me this month was grace. At its core, grace is about God’s love for humanity. God cares so deeply for a fallen and broken world that He offers it a solution, a way out. God provides grace for a guilt-ridden world. The message of grace is connected with forgiveness and healing spoken in our churches and through the mouths and lives of those who are followers of Jesus. Our prayer is to allow us, Lord, to live grace-filled lives among those unconnected and those who are beaten down by the effects of sin. Grace is clearly revealed in Paul’s letter to a young group of believers in Corinth, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 1 Corinthians 5:19.
Grace is revealed also in the waters of Holy Baptism. As Tertullian once shared, “How mighty is the grace of water, in the sight of God and His Christ, for the confirmation of Baptism! Never is Christ without water: He who is Himself in water (Matt 3:13-17). inaugurates in water the first display of His power when invited to the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11); in His preaching, He invites the thirsty to His own eternal water (John 7:37-38; John 4:6ff.) And when He is wounded, after His death, water bursts forth from His side that had been pierced with the soldier’s lance (John 19:34)!” If you want a daily visible reminder of God’s grace, it is found around you everywhere in the form of water. May you be a refreshing drink to the souls of those around you as you live out this year filled with grace.