Growing In Grace
“I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up…” (Acts 20:32)
Do you want to be built up? Life has a way of beating us down, and maybe the news that “the word of his grace…is able to build you up” sounds really good to you right now. In that case, you probably want to know what “the word of his grace” is and to understand how it can build you up. In fact, you may feel a profound need to be built up right now. If so, read on.
WHAT IS “THE WORD OF HIS GRACE”?
In Paul’s encouraging words to the elders in Ephesus, recorded in Acts 20:17-38, three times he alludes to the “word/gospel of his grace.” He is clearly referring each time to the gospel message, but in verses 34-35 he also talks about how he worked hard with his hands so he could help others and in doing so makes a very important connection. He then adds that he worked hard because Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” You may have heard that line before, but perhaps you’ve never understood its connection to understanding how we can be built up in our lives.
There is an inseparable link between the content of the gospel message to the character of the gospel message. That is, the gospel of grace is both a message and a way of life. It’s easy to see the gospel only as grace information, but we must also see that it as grace transformation. It’s easy to see the gospel as a gift we receive, but it is also a gift we give, not just a message, but a life of loving service to others. Because of this, being built up by the word of God’s grace means we’ll find encouragement both in receiving grace from God and in giving grace to others.
HOW GRACE BUILDS US UP
In a world that breaks us down by taking from us, we can mistakenly believe that being built up is about taking what we can get. We are certainly build up by what we get from the gospel (forgiveness, righteousness, etc.). However, we really grow in grace when we follow the example of Christ the way Paul did. Jesus is a giver, and remained a giver even when others were taking everything from him. When it feels like life is relentlessly taking from you, follow Christ into the blessing of being a giver.
Like so many things in Christ’s kingdom, the way up often seems like the way down. Instead, leaders are those who serve, the strong are those who seem weak, the apparently foolish are actually wise, and the ones who a built up are not the takers but the givers. Paul’s encouragement is counterintuitive, but he has learned and encourages us to embrace the teaching of Christ that it truly is “more blessed to give than to receive.” One Christ-follower put it this way, “it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
Today, may you be built up by the word of His grace as you learn and live the blessedness of giving.