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Trophies of Grace
Victoria Boyson
www.boyson.org
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17 KJV).
You are God's
trophy...His masterpiece. "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace" (Eph. 2:6-7 NIV). God
has raised you up to show off the power of His grace.
To walk in the power and authority of Jesus, we must not let our past keep us from fulfilling the call on our lives. We can do this by focusing on who we are in
Christ, living in the realm of redemption and seeing ourselves the way God sees us. Once we lived in darkness without hope, but God chose to bring us to Himself through Christ to be one with Him. He wanted to bring you near to
Himself. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13 NIV).
"He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and
blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4), not by our works, but through Jesus. Through the grace of God we are made holy and blameless, not for our glory, but for His.
In Christ Alone
When grace is given the
opportunity to work in a life without the incumbrance of self-righteousness and self-justification, it is then you see what Paul meant when He said that God "might show the incomparable riches of His grace" (Eph. 2:7).
When I meet one who has lived in darkness away from God, yet now quotes the scriptures with the authority of the Son of God; when I meet one who has every reason to hate himself because of their past, yet does not, I see
someone who has become a trophy of God's grace. They have not justified themselves by their good works, but have placed their hope firmly in the redemption given to them by the cross of Jesus. They have truly believed in Jesus;
they have believed that they could be made whole through the forgiveness of their sins. And they have grabbed onto what God offered them with their whole hearts.
Since their former lives were so dark, they must press on
toward Jesus. Only in Him have they found the grace to become whole. They have no religious works to fall back on to make them feel good about themselves...only the blood of Jesus. With only darkness in their past they move
forward toward the light they have found in Christ.
Our past failures can become a blessing to us if we will let them drive us into the arms of grace - the arms of Christ - into God.
When the adversary comes to remind us of our past, we can agree with him. We can say: Yes, devil, I am a failure. Yet, I am saved from your clutches. Not by my goodness, but I cling to the cross of Christ alone. For it is in
Christ alone I place my hope; by His grace I am made righteous and "IN HIM [I] live and move and have [my] being" (Acts 17:28).
Failure
Satan will use any kind of personal failure to torment us and to try
and stop us from fulfilling the call of God on our lives. But, it can also be used by the Holy Spirit to drive us into the arms of mercy, allowing the works of grace to be made manifest in us.
Peter was very close to
Jesus and loved Him deeply. He had sworn to protect Jesus and defend Him, even with his own life if need be (see John. 13:37). He truly wanted to serve Jesus. Peter really wanted to be a friend who He could depend on. He really
meant it when he said, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will" (Matt. 26:33 NIV). That is what he wanted to do more than anything. Unfortunately, that is not what he did.
Indeed, Peter did not stand up
for Jesus when He needed him. He did not stand strong by Jesus' side as he had longed to, but he crumbled in weakness and failed his dear friend (see John 18:15-27).
What indescribable agony he must have felt. What
painful regret he must have suffered. He loved Jesus so much, yet he failed to do what he wanted so much to do. He suffered in anguish over his failure to his friend.
At the point of Peter's failure to Christ, what would
he do? Would he walk away from Jesus, keeping his pride intact, yet living without Christ? Or would he humble himself, admitting he had failed and ask for forgiveness? He had to make a choice. He could live by
self-justification, making excuses for his sin, or except the mercy of Christ, sanctified by the cross alone.
Peter had pride in his heart, but he proved his love for Jesus, by humbling himself and receiving the
forgiveness of Christ. He could not stand to be away from Christ, so he humbled himself and received His mercy.
Christ does not forgive excuses, only sin - sin that we have acknowledged as sin and repented of - sin that
we have taken to the cross, clinging only to the cross for our righteousness. We must stop making excuses for our sin and simply repent of it. Repentance is a gift from God, and through it we are freed from sin.
Sin will
become the hammer that drives us into the grace of God if we will humble ourselves and run to Him and not away from Him. God said in 2 Chr. 7:14 (NIV), "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." It is in heart-felt repentance that we find God's merciful restoration for our souls.
Trophies of Grace
If we live by grace and not works, receiving Christ's sacrifice as our only justification from sin, we will become God's workmanship...His masterpiece.
God's idea of a masterpiece
is to take a life that has been trampled on by Satan - locked in sin - and then set them free, raising them up and empowering them to do His mighty works. They become His trophy, His work of art. He loves to show them off! He
displays them to the world to show His amazing grace, mercy and forgiveness to others.
If others can see what God's grace has done in you, they will be drawn to the Savior - the giver of grace - the one who restored your
life. If they can see this "incomparable riches of His grace," they will be drawn to the God of grace and rescued from the darkness that surrounds them.
It is up to us to show them the Light of Christ that shines
through grace. And by grace will they be saved, not that any should boast except God (see Eph. 2:8-9). For it is His "boasting" that will make others hungry for what He has given us and what He has for them as a free gift! For though they have failed and fallen into sin, they can find forgiveness through the cross. And He will raise them up like He did Peter (see Acts 2:14-41) causing them to stand secure in Christ alone; they will speak with the boldness of heaven.
There is nothing you have done that can keep you from God's love (see Rom. 8:35). It is a free gift to all who will receive it...all who ask for it...all who want it.
Open your heart and tell Him you want Him.
He will restore your life and make you a trophy of His grace! For there is nothing lost that cannot be found in Him.
Love and blessings to you,
Victoria
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