The Grace Perspective

My wife and I have been working to compile hard copies of documentation as evidence at an upcoming meeting with the New South Wales Tribunal to resolve issues with the builder of our house.  We are blessed the Australian government has provisions in place that supports consumers and holds contractors accountable to the contracts signed by both parties.

During this process it occurred to me in the justice system the burden always falls upon the victim to take legal action to receive the benefit.  In our case it meant filling in applications online, providing all requested information, paying fees, providing access for Fair Trading to inspect the home, making inquiries with involved parties, printing copies for the Tribunal, cancelling other plans to attend the Tribunal meeting and affirm we are honestly telling the truth.  I have never heard of guilty parties commencing legal action against themselves!  It falls to the victim to take the initiative in the pursuit of justice.

Going through this legal process has further opened my eyes to the grace of God.  When man sins, He sins against the righteous God who created the universe and all mankind.  God sent Jesus to earth as the innocent party though offended and disgusted by man's sins and transgressions that never came into His mind (Jeremiah 19:5), and chose to take legal action at the expense of His own beloved Son to redeem and forgive the guilty parties!  God loves Jesus His righteous only begotten Son, and He also loved sinners enough to make Jesus an offering for sinners so we could be justified by grace through faith in Him.  A hurting victim desires the book thrown at the guilty party, yet God took action to save souls by His grace and provide eternal life, forgiveness and perfect peace.

The marvelous grace God has extended to us ought to shape our hearts and minds as it says in Hebrews 12:28:  "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."  Without faith we cannot please God, and without grace we cannot acceptably serve Him.  It is appropriate for Christians in the world to make use of the justice systems governments have put in place to protect citizens knowing we are saved by grace through faith.  Instead of bitterness, our hearts ought to be flooded with blessing.  God's grace brings gladness that will not be shaken even when the justice system on earth falls short of expectation.