grace

grace "pleasing quality, favor, good will, thanks," from L. gratia

Grace, like faith, is another word we use frequently as Christians.  Like faith, grace, is a verb that connects Heaven and Earth.  When I looked up the meaning from the online etymological dictionary (quoted partially above) I immediately thought of the words of the angels as they announced the birth of Christ to the Shepherds:

Luke 2:³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 

       ¹⁴ " Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

It seems that the arrival of Jesus was accompanied by the arrival of grace (goodwill) to men in a very special package.   The angels had front row seats to observe the Glory of God and the grace of God as Heaven and Earth came together in God's Son.   

The first use of the word "grace" in the Bible comes with the story of Noah:

Genesis 6:⁷ So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. ⁹ This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

It's interesting to consider how the grace that Noah found led to his deliverance from judgment and the grace that we find in Christ also leads us to deliverance from judgment.  It's also interesting to consider the close association of finding grace and walking with God.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith