I’ve been meditating lately on what it means to truly live in grace. It sounds like such a simple concept, but isn’t it true that the simplest concepts are often the ones that go the deepest?

Jess and I have been talking about this concept and have really been exploring it for our own lives. We feel that living in grace goes so much deeper than simply being a Christian.

Living in grace means that we live with a strong conviction that we find our new identity in Christ. That the character and nature we see of Him, described in the Bible, is true of us when we put our faith in Him. It means we live in a constant state of humility, recognizing at every turn what Jesus has done for us. It means we extend the same grace to others that has been extended to us. It means that we live in the power of Jesus for everything we must do in life. It means that “in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”

You see, I’ve always heard, “You’re not supposed to compartmentalize your life.” In other words, you don’t have secular areas and sacred areas in your life. (ie. Work is secular, church is sacred.) Instead, living in grace means that everything we do, everything we are is sacred. And we do it all through God’s Spirit within us.

I have to admit, this is a real struggle for me. I find that I often want to make decisions based on my impulses. But my impulses aren’t always being led by God’s Spirit. Sometimes my flesh wants to take the lead. But living in grace means I am led by the Spirit of God within me, not my flesh, which has a tendancy to do evil.

Living in grace means I remember Galatians 2:20. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”