A Return to Grace

Tonight I return to my favorite topic, the doctrine of Grace.  I love the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, it is my "Motto word" for life. It is defined in the Bible Dictionary as "divine means of help of strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ." It is through the Atonement and our own repentance that we receive strength and assistance to do good works that we otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to our own means.  In the New Testament it is understood as "An attitude of goodwill that predisposes God to act positively towards" us.  It is nothing that we can trigger, manipulate, or control. We don't earn grace, we need it.

Today two things brought grace to the forefront of my mind. The first was something my Stake President said while teaching our Institute class about the Savior's time leading up to and in Gethsemane. The Atonement. That is what happened in Gethsemane all those years ago, our Redeemer covering all of our sorrows and our sins. President Featherstone closed the lesson with these words, "Nothing falls outside the realm of the Atonement. Absolutely nothing. Sometimes we don't believe that. But it is true."

There are a few particular people I know that do not believe that.  Some of their actions have been horrendous and they feel there is no way the Atonement could ever cover that. They have sinned too much, they are too far gone to make it back, they say. There is no way that God could love them after what they have done. Which brings me to the second thing, watching the latest Mormon Message, titled The Savior Wants to Forgive, about a man who felt that exact way.

In the video "a former addict and repeat convict shares his experiences with the Savior’s ability and willingness to forgive him again and again, even when he felt undeserving." I watched this not once, but three times because the message was so powerful. Click here to watch it, then read on:

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3446112587001

I watched this before going to Institute, and it was actually a perfect precursor to the lesson, as grace had been on my mind.  The man in this video thought more than once that there was no way God cared about him; that there was no way he could repent enough for what he had done. He was ready to end it all, hiding in the bushes on that night all those years ago. But Heavenly Father spoke to him, "I'm still here".  He was reaching out to, asking this man to come to Him and accept the grace he created when He atoned for us.  He was there for him, and He is there for us. There is not one soul whom He cannot touch, who He cannot save. But we must accept that grace. We must allow Him to save us. If we do not, we depreciate Him and the suffering He went through in that garden over two-thousand years ago.

I know this is true! I have experienced it in my own life, giving in to the only One who has the power to redeem me.  And I will continue to return to grace each and every day of my life. Because of it, I know I will be able to return to live with the One who created me. Won't you too return to grace?