Grace (Part 3)

Main Idea

The lecture discusses divine grace and emphasizes that God’s grace does not leave anyone without visiting them and giving them an opportunity.
Grace is not given according to a person’s merit; otherwise, it would be a reward rather than grace, and therefore God gives out of His generosity even to those who are undeserving.
Pope Shenouda III explains this meaning through many examples, such as the parable of the sower, in which the seed is scattered on every kind of ground, including rocky ground and ground with thorns, so that all may receive an opportunity from grace.
He also explains that grace gave opportunities to very different people, such as Thomas, Peter, Judas, Balaam, and Saul, and even gave gifts and ministries to people who eventually turned away from God.

Spiritual Message

Grace works in human life and throughout creation; it is a giving, protecting, and guiding grace that preserves a person through the different circumstances of life.
The Pope explains that the preservation of the grain stored by Joseph during the years of famine can be understood as an act of God’s grace, just as grace preserved the three young men in the fire and continues to visit a person in both his rising and his falling.
The person who recognizes God’s grace lives continually in thanksgiving, reassurance, and peace because he knows that there is grace protecting, giving to, and guiding him.
Grace also causes a person to live in love because he feels that God does not treat him in a formal way based on merit, but treats him with love.

Educational Lesson

The lecture teaches us that every person should recognize the blessings with which God has surrounded his life and should not say that he has been deprived of grace.
Grace appears in spiritual matters, natural gifts, daily protection and care, and even throughout all creation, because God is the Father and caretaker of all His creatures.
The Pope also explains that the greatest manifestation of grace is redemption and salvation, because Christ offered salvation to humanity despite its lack of merit, and justification and the gifts in the Holy Sacraments are all works of grace.

Practical Application

The practical application is for a person to live a continual life of thanksgiving and to recognize God’s work in his life instead of focusing on what he believes he lacks or has been deprived of.
When a person falls, he should not despair, because grace warns and alerts him, gives him strength to rise, and leads him into a life of repentance; and when he rises, it encourages him and gives him strength to continue.
Therefore, we should respond to the opportunities offered by grace, use the gifts God has given us for good and service, and continually thank the Lord for His grace.

For better translation support, please contact the center.