Image by spodzone
I feel like this title could be a Chinese parable, or a children’s story; it’s not. However, in some ways there definitely a fantastic element to the subject matter for today. Here are the verses:
“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and grace of God was upon him.” Luke 2:40
When I read verses like these I always wonder. What was it like to grow up with Jesus? How did he act? Did He take out the trash? Was he envied by His siblings?
But, I think the thing that makes me wonder the most, is the idea of God’s grace on Him. He was obviously very wise, but the Bible chooses to say that the Grace of God was upon him. Unmerited favor. The type of gift that is received, which is completely undeserved. That is grace. And Jesus had it upon Him.
I wonder how that grace was reflected on and in Jesus. Proverbs 3:34 teaches us that grace is given to the humble, and I am sure no one doubts that Jesus was humble. The word used in Greek for grace,”charis,” is used in the Bible to describe joy or pleasure, even the ability to speak well. It also means grace which God uses to influence souls to Jesus, creating faith, belief, growth, and right living. So you can imagine how Jesus might have been: humble, joyful, worshipful, delightful in speech (but not annoyingly so), and He drew people in, in a way that influenced there souls causing them to believe, grow and live.
Oh, how fun a board game with Jesus would have been.
I know there are multiple verses in the Bible about Jesus, and how grace was given to us through Jesus. Yet one part of a verse in particular, impacts my heart. It says:
“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began…” 2 Timothy 1:9
This same Grace that Jesus had upon Him is the same Grace that was given to us through Jesus, before the ages began, before He was born. We have the same unmerited favor, humbleness, joy, worship, speech (through the Holy Spirit), and message that God uses to draw people in, in a way that will influence their souls.
Some of my favorite verses can be found in Zechariah 12:10 and Zechariah 13:1. It is a prophecy of the coming Christ, and it is one which affirms in every bit of my soul, how great our God is.
“10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn… On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
This grace that we received, before the beginning of the ages, we can literally see through the birth and life of Jesus Christ. It was poured out for us, with mercy. Pierced for us, the only child. Wept for, as we would weep for a first born. So that one day, that day, the grace that was poured out on Him would become a fountain for us. A fountain to cleanse us from our sins.
That my friends, is our God.
