Such richness!
by Colleen Fitzpatrick
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… so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7).
Read Ephesians 1:15 – 2:7
As I read the verses this week’s devotions are based on, the word ‘grace’ kept appearing. It got me thinking about how we hear the word today. I came up with graceful, gracious, graced (with one’s presence), to say grace before a meal, grace days (those extra days of holidays that are sometimes given between Christmas and New Year), Your Grace (how to address a duke, duchess or archbishop) and grace-filled. There are the opposites as well: disgrace, disgraceful, graceless – a bit of a mixed bag, really. I also discovered that my daughter’s and granddaughter’s names both mean ‘grace’ (Anne and Hannah). How good is that?
However, none of these (not even my daughter or granddaughter) seem to convey the magnitude of God’s amazing gift of grace to us – our glorious inheritance.
The reading incites hope inside our hearts, thankfulness and a sense of God’s immense power and generosity. The power is so great that all we have to do is to believe, and we are saved. This gift is timeless and limitless – and kind.
Do we really appreciate what a wonderful gift God is giving us? I’m not sure that I do. Maybe it’s because I have grown up knowing about grace. It has always been there – I’ve known that I have been saved by grace through faith. Maybe always knowing about God’s grace means I have never contemplated or appreciated the amazing richness, breadth, depth and width of God’s grace for me.
All of my life, there has been a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo in the bookcase-cum-writing-desk that I have inherited from my family home. The book was a teenage birthday gift to my mother from her mother about 100 years ago, which I have read and re-read numerous times. It was always covered in brown paper. Earlier this year, I removed the brown paper to reveal a beautifully bound book. The cover was exquisitely decorated by some long-gone bookbinder. I wonder whether I would have appreciated its beauty if I had uncovered the book earlier.
Today’s reading may be worth re-reading and savouring. Pause and reflect on the richness of the gracious and grace-filled love God has for you and me.
Generous God, thank you for your grace and mercy that is always there for each and every one of us. Thank you for the gift of faith your Spirit has given me. Help my faith grow so that I may walk more closely with you each day. Amen.
Colleen lives in Adelaide with her husband, John. She enjoys reading, writing and keeping in touch with friends and family in Australia and overseas. After growing up in rural New South Wales, Colleen attended university in Sydney and then moved to Adelaide for two years in 1974. After meeting and marrying her husband, she has never left.
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