The Gift of Grace

Well my fellow bloggers, it's been far too long since our last entry so what better day to post than on Christmas? 2007 has been great but in late November we did suffer the loss of our child - Grace - I'm posting a portion of the Eulogy I gave for her memorial experience.

2 Peter 3:18 reads

But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.

While the word Grace occurs over 160 times in the Bible, the clause Find Grace or found Grace – as in Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord or Hebrews 4:14-16 - find grace to help us - occurs nearly 30 times in the Bible. Now we know the word Grace to mean – God’s unmerited favor – A special gift given to us for something we could not earn ourselves. Worth far more than all that we have. On our best days – when we have fed the hungry – healed the sick – ministered to those in need – made all the morally acceptable choices – we still can’t earn Grace – because Grace is given. Well the question then may be - for those instances in the scriptures and during times such as these –
Is or was Grace Lost? Well my brothers and my sisters, I have some Good news for you and I’m not talking about saving on car insurance – the expression finding grace in the scriptures can be translated to experiencing Grace.
You may not always see Grace – But there is Grace. You may not always feel Grace – rest assured fam Grace is There – not in that vault, but right in your hearts and minds. Sometimes I like to think that I’m the one providing consolation and comfort to others but please believe that I’m encouraging myself. For I have come to understand that once you experience Grace, your life cannot remain the same. We all experienced Grace.
Our conversations with friends and family changed and our actions changed too. We joked about names like Lamont (before I knew she was a girl) Thekla (little thekky what they call her) and Maggie. We conversed about back pillows. We changed what we cooked and ate. Our Friday evenings went from leaving work and going out to leaving work and going home to sleep. Grace does just that - Grace changes you.
Hence, it has become more evident to me the power of this scripture in 2 Peter 3:18 – But Grow in grace… How do you grow in something you can’t earn? You learn and you cherish each experience of Grace that you have had. You share that Grace – You keep that Grace with you – and above all, you learn more about Grace Himself – Jesus. Sent by God the father in heaven as Grace to an already perishing world. Jesus, the special gift of Grace that lived as man and died a death that he didn’t earn but in 3 short days rose giving more Grace, changing more lives, healing more spirits. And He’s coming back, and by His Grace we’ll be changed eternally.
Yes, my brothers and sisters while this is a celebration, we are not immune to events that have brought us here. This is not a forum to figure it all out, but after you have ran out of questions to ask yourself – The Lord has an answer for you. Yes this is a place where it’s ok to cry and weep – Christ sent us the comforter for times just like this – just make sure that every once in a while when feel a tear welling up in your eyes, you see Jesus right there ready to wipe it all away.
This moment in time we celebrate Grace, thank you for sharing in this experience with us.

Merry Christmas to all!!