BY WESLEY TORRES

race is the English word translated from Latin, gratia, which in turn is translated from the Greek, charis, meaning "undeserved favor." Love is the twin sister of grace (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8). Christ is the personification of God's grace, and that's why His death to save the human race is the utmost act of love. Jesus came to manifest grace and love, to rescue humankind from its condemnation and bondage to sin.

Without Grace
Because of sin, we're all without hope and deserving of death. But because of Christ, we can experience the abundance of grace, which results in salvation and life. Christ's communication of grace and love exceeds and overrides the guilt and wrath caused by Adam and Eve's sin. Beyond that, we are promised: Where sin abounded, grace overabounded (Rom. 5:20).

This is a wonderful solution to the problem of sin: Christ freely gives His abundant grace to all who wish to cover themselves with His righteousness and mercy.

Grace Needs to Be Accepted. During the administration of United States president Andrew Jackson, George Wilson, a postal clerk, robbed a federal payroll from a train and killed a guard. The court convicted Wilson and sentenced him to hang. Because of public sentiment against capital punishment, however, a movement began to secure a presidential pardon for Wilson (it was his first offense).

Eventually President Jackson intervened with a pardon. Amazingly, Wilson refused it. The Supreme Court was asked to rule on whether a person could refuse a presidential pardon. Chief Justice John Marshall handed down the Court's decision: "A pardon is a parchment whose only value must be determined by the receiver of the pardon. It has no value apart from that which the receiver gives to it. George Wilson refused to accept the pardon. . . . We cannot conceive why he would do so, but he has. Therefore, George Wilson must die."

Wilson was hanged. Pardon, declared the Supreme Court, must not only be granted, it must be accepted. So it is with God's grace. He offers it to us, but it can be experienced only if we accept it.

To obtain the gift of grace we need only to claim God's promises (2 Cor. 8:9; Eph. 2:5-7), pray for grace (John 14:13, 14), and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts, awakening us to the reality of our need (Eph. 1:12, 13; Ps. 51:1).

Three Dimensions of Grace. God's abundant grace has three dimensions--past, present, and future. When we accept His grace we are made new, and our past is buried in Christ. As we walk with the Lord our transformed lives are evidence of His abundant grace in us. Even if we sin His grace is, and will always be, available to pardon us if we confess and repent of our sins.

Grace Preserves Life
The presence of sin in the human heart brought competition, division, discrimination, and differences between God's creatures. Through His care for nature, God's grace controls life on earth, because nature also suffers sin's consequences (Rom. 8:20, 22). God's wonderful promises include the redemption of nature from sin and its consequences when sin is finally destroyed (Isa. 35:1, 2, 7; 55:13).

Nature Portrays God's Grace. God's grace is easily perceived in the maintenance of life on our earth. Sunshine and rain sustain life on the planet and cause the land to produce food. Seasons come and go, benefiting human beings and nature itself.

Everything in the universe testifies to a Creator and a Sustainer, despite the intrusion of sin and its consequences.

God's Grace on Our Planet. Nature's ecological equilibrium has been disturbed in some parts of the world, usually out of ignorance or because of limited vision and economical ambitions (many times in the name of development and progress) without consideration for long-term consequences.

Despite the destruction imposed on our planet, we can see traces of God's wonderful work: the beautiful fields of Alberta, Canada; the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; the Norwegian fjords; the amazing, mysterious, and untouched nature in Africa; the magnitude of the Amazon rain forest; the numberless varieties of birds daily sustained by God's gracious hand; unimaginable kinds of animals peculiar to each region on our planet; countless types of trees with their fruits. Is there any reason to believe that any of these are here by chance?

The evidence suggests a Creator and Maintainer of life.

Those of us who have experienced God's abundant grace have a responsibility to do our part in preserving nature. God's grace protects and enhances life on our planet; and we, as His witnesses, are called to testify about this.

God's Grace Extended
God's grace is free to everyone regardless of ethnic, racial, social, gender, national, or tribal differences--mere human classifications.

Christ came to destroy all human barriers or divisions that separate His children from God or each other. He came to reconnect humanity with God and establish a new order in which people live in peace and harmony when they choose to be transformed by His grace.

Questions for sharing: 1. Give an example from the past week when you experienced "undeserved favor" from someone; also when you extended it to someone else. 2. Why is it so hard to accept the concept of grace? What would make it easier to grasp? 3. List three reasons a proper understanding of grace is more important now than ever before in earth's history.

God's Promises in His Word. God makes no distinction between us in His dealings, because He accepts us just as we are. "Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all" (Col. 3:11, NIV). That means there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile (or Palestinian), Zulu or Xhosa, Serbian or Croatian, Hutu or Tutsi, White or Aboriginal, Black or White. We are all one before God (Gal. 3:28).

The Bible is full of promises assuring us that God's grace brings salvation, hope, and life if we simply come to Him. There are no limits to what His grace can do to transform us.

Acceptance and Renewal. When we experience God's overabundance of grace in our lives, the natural consequence is the transformation of our character. This in turn leads to our acceptance of one another and the desire to live together as children of God. All intrigue, prejudice, or discrimination--so much a part of our sinful nature--will be changed by Christ's marvelous grace. This is the practical and visible evidence of God's overabundant grace to our society. The world cannot understand it, but it will marvel at it.

God's Ideal Plan. God's original plan involved face-to-face communication with His created beings in a setting in which they would enjoy His company eternally. This was temporarily obliterated by the intrusion of sin.

The Bible employs the symbol of angels (messengers) commissioned with the task of proclaiming the plan of salvation to every nation, tribe, language, and people (Rev. 14:6, 7). The truth enveloped here is clear: God invites every person to be part of His kingdom regardless of his or her ethnic, racial, gender, social, national, or tribal differences.

A Practical Grace
God's grace is a gift to us. The conditions for receiving God's grace are a recognition of our need and a willingness to surrender ourselves completely to Him in order to be changed and made new by His grace.

When I think about God's grace being manifested in human actions, I remember what happened to me when I was 8 years old.

The bank manager with whom my parents dealt was to be a dinner guest in our home. My mother was preparing for that distinguished occasion, and I watched her rush to get everything ready. I wanted to help her. I kept asking and begging her to let me do something more than just wash the pans.

When it was nearly 5:00 I saw my mother bring down from the cupboard our best and most beautiful dinner set. I asked and asked, and she finally allowed me to place those lovely plates on the table. Wanting to prove my ability, I picked up three plates at once. Step by step, very slowly, I walked toward the dining room.

Then I stumbled, and the plates slipped from my hands, shattering into hundreds of pieces on the floor. I couldn't bear to look at my mother. Instead, I began to cry and longed to run away.

Just as I hesitated, Mother gently approached me. Holding me in her arms and looking into my tearful eyes, she said, "Wesley, there are still three plates to be put on the table. Please, let me help you try again."

That's how I understand God's abundant grace that works for you and me.

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Wesley Torres, a Brazilian by birth, is married to Angela, and they have two children, Kelly and Kevin. He has ministered in Brazil, the United States, South Africa, and Australia.