This is a diagnostic post where I’d like to ask a simple question for your reflection: How do you feel about grace?

We talk about grace: Jesus died for my sins. We sing about amazing grace and how sweet it sounds. We hear sermons about grace being a gift and not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Some people even name their kiddos Grace.

But, how do you feel about grace? Is it wonderful to you? Does it engender awe in your heart? Does it bring tears to your eyes? When was the last time you took a moment to think, “Ah yes. Grace on my soul,” and drink it in like a freshly brewed cup of coffee (or tea if you’re British or weird)? To ask it bluntly: Has the truth of grace ceased to do anything to your soul? Have you become calloused to grace’s touch? Have you become deaf to its sweet sound?

Pastor Dale Ralph Davis hits the mark for many of us:

I think…the church has lost the marvel of such forgiveness. We have by and large the vending machine view of forgiveness rather than the miracle view. We pop in our penitence token and out comes the assurance of pardon, In public worship we mumble through our prayers of confession…even calling ourselves ‘miserable offenders’. But it’s all in the script, in the church bulletin. It is another thing (for grace) to seize our mind, to convulse our emotion… Instead, we have lost the goosebumps on our souls. Having a God who ‘passes over rebellion’ (Micah 7:18) should make us shudder with joy. (2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity, p. 156).

Friend, how does grace make you feel? I understand that our feelings are not everything, but they most definitely are something. Although they aren’t the sole authenticator of one’s spiritual health, they most definitely are an evidence of it.

So, friend, does grace seize your mind? Does it control your life (2 Corinthians 5:14)? Is grace what beckons you to rise from your bed each morning (Acts 20:24)? Is grace still amazing to you? I hope it is.

As you meditate upon what God has done for you, may God’s grace cover your soul with goosebumps.