John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
I learned a lot about grace from reading some of our Puritan fathers. Men like Matthew Henry and Jonathan Edwards had a very powerful understanding of grace. What they taught was that it is the grace of God that gives us the ability to perceive God and His kingdom at all. Like Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless a man is born again he can never see the kingdom of God”. Grace is God’s influence on our soul that opens our eyes to His goodness and causes us to be born again. Suddenly, we can see; that is why we can see the spiritual realities all about us. His word becomes alive, His creation is breath taking, and His love becomes our life. Once you have been awakened, you can begin to bask in His love that shines down like the rays from the sun. This is how Andrew Murray describes this incredible grace.
“Those beautiful trees and flowers, with all this green grass, what do they do to keep the sun shining on them? They do nothing; they simply bask in the sunshine, when it comes. The sun is millions of miles away, but over all that distance it comes, its own light and joy; and the tiniest flower that lifts its little head up- wards is met by the same exuberance of light and blessing as flood the widest landscape. We have not to care for the light we need for our day’s work; the sun cares, and provides and shines the light around us all the day. We simply count upon it, and receive it, and enjoy it.
The only difference between nature and grace is this, that what the trees and the flowers do unconsciously, as they drink in the blessing of the light, is to be with us a voluntary and a loving acceptance. Faith, simple faith in God’s word and love, is to be the opening of the eyes, the opening of the heart, to receive and enjoy the unspeakable glory of His grace. And just as the trees, day by day, and month by month, stand and grow into beauty and fruitfulness, just welcoming whatever sunshine the sun may give, so it is the very highest exercise of our Christian life just to abide in the light of God, and let it, and let Him, fill us with the life and the brightness it brings.”
So one of the most spiritual things we can do is just soak in His grace and love. Soaking is just another way to describe receiving. If you haven’t figured it out yet, God is the giver. He delights in giving. He is glorified when we receive. What a deal! We soak in His grace, our hearts are filled to overflowing, and by this interaction God is glorified. Actually it is our satisfaction, or even better, our extreme joy that glorifies God.
