By the Grace of God I Am What I Am

"By the grace of God I am what I am!" (1 Corinthians 15:10). This is the believer's eternal confession.

Grace found him a rebel--it leaves him a son. Grace found him wandering at the gates of hell--it leads him through the gates of heaven. Grace devised the scheme of Redemption: Justice never would; Reason never could. And it is grace which carries out that scheme.

No sinner would ever have sought his God but by grace. The thickets of Eden would have proved Adam's grave, had not grace called him out. Saul would have lived and died the haughty self-righteous persecutor, had not grace laid him low. The thief would have continued breathing out his blasphemies, had not grace arrested his tongue and tuned it for glory.

"Out of the knottiest timber," says Rutherford, "He can make vessels of mercy for service in the high palace of glory."

"I came, I saw, I conquered," says Toplady, "may be inscribed by the Saviour on every monument of grace." 'I came to the sinner; I looked upon him; and with a look of omnipotent love, I conquered.' "

My friend, we would have been this day wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness--Christless, hopeless, portionless--had not grace invited us, and grace constrained us.

"It is grace which, at this moment, keeps us. We have often been a Peter--forsaking our Lord, but brought back to him again. Why not a Demas or a Judas? "I have prayed for you that your faith fail not." Is not this our own comment and reflection on life's retrospect? "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

"Oh, let us seek to realize our continual dependence on this grace every moment! 'More grace! more grace!' should be our continual cry. But the infinite supply is proportionate with the infinite need. The treasury of grace, though always emptying is always full; the key of prayer which opens it is always at hand: and the almighty Giver of the blessings of grace is always waiting to be gracious. The recorded promise never can be canceled or reversed:

"My grace is sufficient for you." (2 Corinthians 12:9).