Gospel Reflections #819: What enables us to receive God?

John 1:17 "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

The Law was given when the people of Israel were freed from slavery in Egypt and became God's people at Mount Sinai. It enabled Israel, as a nation, to live a society centered on God and to draw near to Him through the Tabernacle.

The Law contains various statutes and commandments.

Before that, people did not know how God was involved in the minute details of the lives of such small, powerless humans. But God chose Israel, giving them detailed instructions even for the minutiae of daily life, granting them the privilege of intimately knowing what kind of God He truly is.

However, the Law was not a means of salvation; it demonstrated that it was impossible for humans to keep it by their own strength.

The Law alone cannot truly make us know God.

In contrast, grace is God's work that "enables us to receive what we do not deserve."

We have no merit to receive blessings from God.

Yet, it is God's grace that lavishly bestows them upon us.

Through grace, the Lord's love is poured out endlessly.

Knowing this can transform your life completely.

It transforms your life into one filled solely with joy, gratitude, and delight.

When you come to know God's love through grace, you are moved by that love. Far from living irresponsibly, your life is transformed into one of love and devotion.

That is why Jesus came to this earth—to embody and reveal the true love of God.

The more we come to know Jesus, the more we are overwhelmed by the depth of His grace. Yet simultaneously, we are confronted with our true selves in a way that can be deeply unsettling.

Jesus does not accuse us, saying, "You have this sin."

But through His actions and the words He speaks, our sin is naturally brought to light.

It is by knowing our true selves that we are led to repentance.

We are confronted by the reality of our limitations and the effects of sin through the law. Through this, we receive the healing, forgiveness, mercy, and redemption shown in the law—the cure for our sickness.

God works tirelessly until we achieve a new restoration.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.