Common Grace

Once in a while God gives us the ability to see just how fragile life is and what an amazing gift it is to be blessed with another day of life. Last night I was thinking about that and when I opened my eyes this morning it was with the realization that I opened them to a new day only by the grace of God.

A year ago I would have been hard-pressed to give a definition to "common grace". It was a concept I was vaguely aware of but hadn't thought about a lot. Over the past year I have become much more conscious of the concept, having been instructed in and reminded of it numerous times. Common grace is "common" because it is grace that is showered on all people, regardless of their spiritual condition or their recognition of the Giver of this grace. Common grace includes things like God's providential care of His creation, His restraining of evil in the world, His allowing mankind to live together without total chaos and His many blessings given through the use of mankind's intelligence - science, medicine and technology. "God causes His rain to fall on the good and evil" is a recognition of common grace. Common grace is "grace" because it is something that is totally undeserved by the recipients. God gives it because He is a giver, not because we deserve it.

Of course in a world that doesn't recognize God, common grace is unheard of. Being materialists, most of us think it's our jobs that provide for our needs, not recognizing that our ability to work and our job itself is a gift of God. In manifold ways we ignore the ultimate source, giving credit to the "second causes".

The only sane and reasonable response to an awareness of common grace is thankfulness. There's a whole lot of sound theology in the three little words "count your blessings". So today I'm thanking God for the common grace He showers in my life - things like waking up healthy this morning, starting and ending each day in the arms of a good man who loves me, the love of my family, food in my cupboards and refrigerator, the rain He's causing to fall on LA today, the blessing of music that pours from my CD player at the touch of a button, the mail system and my computer that bring me greetings from beloved friends far and wide, safety on the LA freeways. Of course all of these blessings pale in comparison to the surpassing value of the UNcommon grace He has poured out on me in Jesus' atoning death on the cross. But they are still there, day by day reminding me that the One who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will with Him also freely give us all things.

An understanding of God's common grace helps me when times get tough. If my trust is in the Giver and not in the gift, my foundation is secure no matter what happens. "He does not fear bad news nor live in dread of what may happen, for he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him." (Psalm 112:7 Living Bible) The God who cares for the sparrows and lilies is also in sovereign control of my life. Life is much better when I spend it thanking God for His blessings than when I live in fear of losing them. May God open our eyes to His grace, common and uncommon.