BY LARRY PITCHER

eople want the facts. We don't appreciate superlatives in the polite conversations we have in church or Sabbath school. We credit people with the intelligence God gave them. But maybe we should use words such as audacious and bodacious, awesome and stupendous. The Gospel writers did. They had to use words that pushed the zenith of expression to describe Jesus' incredible acts. As you read the Gospels, you can sense the awe they had for Jesus.

The stories that Jesus told to the Gospel writers reveal that God's grace puts His love into action. Because God's grace is active, it has the power to bind us to Christ, to unite us to God's people, to equip us with His promised gifts, and to empower our witness. God's grace and love create a fellowship in which the Christian can live and work to build the kingdom of heaven.

The Fellowship of Grace
We can learn how God's grace binds us to Christ by studying some experiences Jesus had with Peter. From John's account, we learn how Jesus found Peter actively engaged in his world of smelly fish, leaky boats, iron-muscled men, and dangerous storms.

Two of John the Baptist's disciples had heard the Baptist proclaim that Jesus was the "Lamb of God" (John 1:35). His words aroused in Andrew and John a wonderful curiosity that impelled them to get to know this Man.

During that time, God's love filled Andrew's heart. Convicted that he had encountered the Messiah, Andrew would not rest until he found his brother. To entice Peter to meet Jesus, Andrew used this startling announcement: "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41, NKJV). Shocked, yet interested and hopeful that his brother might be right, Peter followed Andrew to Jesus.

In their first meeting Jesus does something remarkable. He renames Simon. No longer would Jesus call him by his old name, Simon, the son of Jonah. Instead, Jesus named him Cephas (the rock), which translates to Peter. Jesus employed the claiming power of grace to bind Peter close to His heart. This bond would become so strong that this bragging, blustering, big-muscled fisherman gave up his own plans and devoted himself to building up the kingdom for Jesus.

First Observation About Grace
God's grace actively draws us into fellowship with Jesus. Grace actively searches for the hopeful, looks for the lost, seeks out those rejected, and hunts for ways to reach closed minds. Grace wants everyone to meet Jesus.

And when they do, Jesus has a special promise for those who join the fellowship of God's grace: "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it" (Rev. 2:17, NIV).

Isn't that wonderful? Just as Jesus claimed and renamed Peter, He promises to claim and rename us when we come to Him. Jesus pledges to include us in the fellowship of His grace. Once we belong to Jesus, no one, no power on earth, absolutely nothing can prevent our God from keeping us in His fellowship.

Second Observation About Grace
God's grace will not allow us to rest forever in sweet fellowship with the grace we have in Jesus. Neither does God's grace wait for what we consider to be a handy time. Grace calls us to work to build up God's kingdom when God knows the time is right for Him and for us. Jesus' call to action came to Peter while he was at work--not at worship (see Matt. 4:18). Jesus didn't wait for the convenient time. Instead, grace confronted Peter while he was very busy. Jesus asked Peter to leave everything and become a disciple. That is an audacious, bodacious request. That is the call of grace to action.

Perhaps you may be hearing Jesus' audacious call to action. You know you have so much to do. What with the kids, the house, the job, the neighbors, the in-laws, and friends, you don't have time for more. Yet you feel the active pull of grace to do something special for Him.

Maybe you should heed Peter's example, stop what you are doing, and respond immediately to Jesus' gracious, audacious invitation. This may not be the convenient time for you, but in God's plans it is the right time. When we positively respond to Jesus' invitation, we join a group of people who have heard the call and have said, "Yes, Lord, You can count on me!"

Notice how Ellen White describes the scene in which Jesus commissioned the disciples for ministry:

"When Jesus had ended His instruction to the disciples, He gathered the little band close about Him, and kneeling in the midst of them, and laying His hands upon their heads, He offered a prayer dedicating them to His sacred work. Thus the Lord's disciples were ordained to the gospel ministry."¹

Third Observation About Grace
By this significant act Jesus showed the importance of the disciples being united as a team. Jesus was their leader. But they were not alone in their work. Jesus bound them to one another as colleagues, as a team of evangelists.

"Christ sent forth His disciples to preach the gospel, not singly, but by twos, that they might labor unitedly in spreading the truth. Jesus saw that this plan would result in much more good than if one was sent alone. There is need of two working together; for one can encourage the other, and they can counsel, pray, and search the Bible together."²

Fourth Observation About Grace
God's grace provides healing and comfort, love and assurance, hope and strength when we are plunged into life's terrible times. Remember Jesus' promises, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20, NJKV) and "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5, NKJV).

Question for sharing: 1. How does God's grace unite believers? 2. What can we learn about grace and love from Peter's story? 3. What is "the call of grace to action?"

But grace is not a magical force that repels any and all tragedies and storms from God's church. The storms of life will come. A market crash may wipe out your retirement income. A cancerous enemy may spring up from nowhere and take the life of your beloved. Recession-induced downsizing in your company may eliminate your job. A rebellious child may break your heart.

Belonging to the fellowship of God's grace does not prevent tragedy. However, when the storm is the worst and we think we are about to go under, God's grace appears. Look up! Jesus is with you in the storm. He offers you His help.

If you are experiencing a storm today, listen to Jesus speak to you through the prophet Isaiah: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God" (Isa. 43:1-3, NKJV).

One last insight from Peter's experience with the love and grace of Jesus is the fellowship of the forgiven. Peter had sworn to defend Jesus even if it killed him. But then Peter failed--miserably failed. That crushed him, shamed him.

One night, following Jesus' resurrection, Peter proposed to his fellow disciples that they once again go fishing. That night, however, they caught nothing.

But Jesus intervened, filling their nets with fish. Then He fed them breakfast. Awed yet silent in His presence, Peter remembered that Jesus had now twice filled his nets with fish. What would He do now? Peter wondered.

He didn't have long to wait. "Peter, do you love Me?" With Peter's teammates listening, Jesus' trio of questions crushed the once self-assured disciple, deflating his pride, destroying his pretentiousness, and breaking his heart.

In front of everyone, Peter bared his soul to Jesus. "Lord, I love You, but You know everything." Three times Peter had denied Jesus. Three times Jesus asked him, "Do you love Me?"

The grace and love of Jesus toward Peter taught him and his teammates to meet the sinner with forbearance, understanding, and unblaming love. Although Peter had denied his Lord, the love and grace of God publicly restored him to his place on the team.

From Peter's experiences we learn these timeless lessons. One, God's awesome grace attracts and then unites us to Christ. Two, grace binds our varied lives together into a single team--God's team. Three, the grace of Jesus impels, characterizes, and empowers our witness. Four, grace heals our broken lives and restores the fallen to fellowship. Five, God's audacious grace transforms sinners like you and me into saints who eagerly love to serve Jesus.

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¹ Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 296.
² White, in Review and Herald, July 4, 1893.

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Larry Pitcher is president of Christian Record Services International, with headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska.