Do You Truly Understand the Gospel of God's Grace?

"The faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in Heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world--just as it is has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit." Colossians 1:5-8

- When our hope is eternal life in Heaven, our faith and love blossom and bring forth fruit. We see faith, love, and hope go together in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." Because we know that our future destination and salvation are firmly secure, our faith and confidence are strengthened and our love is nourished.
- "Truly understood God's grace"--If you truly understand God's grace, your life will never be the same. You can know what grace is yet do not truly understand it. No words can adequately describe the depth and magnitude of God’s grace. Nothing can compare to God’s grace. Without God’s grace, there would be no salvation, forgiveness, redemption, righteousness, and reconciliation. The more we realize how wretched we are, the more we understand, appreciate, and embrace God’s grace. When we face trials in life, God’s grace is there to sustain us and strengthen us. His grace is sufficient for you and me in any situation. When we fail, God's grace is there to forgive us and remind us that He loves us no matter what. May we always rest in His unconditional & inexhaustible love, grace, and mercy!
- Christian love (Christlike love) comes from the Holy Spirit. It is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us." (Romans 5:5)
- The Gospel of God's grace transforms lives and those transformed lives bear fruit for God. It is very interesting to see that within the first generation (about 32 years after the death of Christ), the gospel had reached the whole known world. Wish it was true today! There are currently over 6,900 unreached people groups. What are we, Christ's followers, doing about it? We must take the Great Commission seriously and be active in spreading the gospel. "Go, send, or disobey!" (~John Piper) "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known."(Romans 15:20a) That's my ambition, too. "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:24)