20th January 2025
Out of his fullness
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1:16-18 (NIV)
We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus, our Messiah where gifts are given to each other. As our family grew and grew, it became harder and harder to keep up with all the events and the gifts to one another. Most of the time we did not need the gift, or found it unsuitable for us, so we would find another place to give the gift or return it. We agreed to stop this giving, and instead give to a charity of our choice. There is no end to those who are in need. If we are honest with ourselves, many of us are rich compared to the rest of the world. And yet we are not satisfied and want more and more.
Everything we possess has been given to us by God. Not one of us has entered this world rich, but naked and crying. Our parents may have supplied our needs, but we were not carrying anything with us but our needs at our birth. God in his mercy and grace has poured out upon us this life and the things we needed for it. John tells us that even then, we did not recognise this gift or the giver (John 1:10-11). Imagine this in your case. You give a gift, let us say you pay for someone’s meal, but they do not thank you, they take it and turn away from you and enjoy the meal, and then just walk away. Would you do it again? No, we may not, but God in all of his goodness, does this repeatedly each day. Out of his fullness, he gives us more grace.
We are flesh and blood, and God is Spirit. John reminds us that we have not seen God. So how can we know him? We are weak creatures. We are full of faults. Quite often I have heard and said these words: ‘I will believe it when I see it.’ So how do we see God? God came down to us and became one of us so that we may see him. We see God in the person and character of Jesus Christ. God came to us so that we may see and recognise him. He put aside his place in the Godhead to become one of us; so that we may know him, so that we may know the Father. It is a gift that suits and fits us all. And he is not done giving to us but graces us every day with his love and goodness.
God gifted us with the gift of life, and we abused it, but he was not done yet because out of his abundance of mercy and grace, he gifts us again with his life, so that we may have a new life – life eternal. It is no wonder I woke up singing: ‘Hallelujah, is the feeling down deep in my soul.’ We are blessed over, and over again, with the fullness of God’s love, mercy, and grace. Is anything better than that?
Prayer
We praise you, our wonderful, righteous, and merciful God! We cling to your goodness and enjoy your peace. Of this goodness, we do not deserve, but your love continues to overflow to us. We come here to thank you! To lift up your name in praise. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Anne Gillam About the author: |
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