As Christians, the hope of Heaven is central to our faith. ''If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.'' (1 Corinthians 15:19) God promised us the hope of eternal life before the world began (Titus 1:2). We are to lay up for ourselves ''treasures in heaven'' (Matthew 6:20). Our heavenly hope is a source of purification (1 John 3:3) and comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
But as I'm sure you have noticed, we don't get immediately transported to eternal glory after giving our hearts to the Lord. Grace is the ticket to Heaven but in most cases there is a waiting period. In the meantime we are stuck down here in ''the darkness of this world'' (Ephesians 6:12) where the devil is walking around like a roaring lion, salivating for someone to devour (see 1 Peter 5:8). Since this is the case, there is a need to continue in the grace that brought light to our souls.
Have you ever been watching a movie or television show, eager to see how the story ends, only to see those teasing words: to be continued...? What do those words mean? This is not the end of the story. There's more to come. Likewise, the story of grace doesn't end at the moment you invite Christ into your heart. It's as if the Holy Spirit writes ''to be continued'' with spiritual ink on your inner man. Each day is to be a continuation of the grace of God in the episodes of our lives.
Thank God for saving grace. Thank God for the redemptive key of grace that unlocks the heavenly gates of eternity. But there is also healing grace. There is delivering grace. 2 Corinthians 9:8 refers to financial grace which abounds toward us as a result of our cheerful giving.
There is daily grace to meet our earthly needs. Hebrews 4:16 invites us to boldly approach God's ''throne of grace'' for ''grace to help us in our time of need'' (New International Version). The Apostle Peter wrote about ''the grace of life'' (1 Peter 3:7).
There is grace to lead us through the Maze of problems and challenges on this side of eternity. Thank God for the ''sweet by-and-by.'' But there is grace to get us through the bitter here-and-now!
© Matt Decker
» This post is excerpted from my book GRACE IN A MAZE: How to Make it Through
