Romans 5:2 - Your all-access pass to grace

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Think of the feeling you have when you get a good thing that you didn’t deserve.

It could be a friend treating you to lunch. It could be your neighbor giving you a pack of diapers when you’re fresh out. It could be you bombing your interview and getting the job anyway.

When we receive grace—unmerited favor—it feels awkward, because we’ve grown accustomed to a world that doesn’t work like that. We're used to getting what we deserve, good or bad. It's a world where free gifts have attachments, where we're more suspicious than grateful when we receive them.

But there's another world, one that's outside the calculating, tit-for-tat material one we're used to. It's a space where grace isn't sparse, but abounds. It's where you don't have to hope grace might pay you a visit, but where grace dwells with you. Where you perpetually stand in it.

Think of the feeling you would have if you realized every moment you were receiving a good thing you didn't deserve. You might have constant peace, gratitude, and joy. By faith in Christ and what He's done, we have access to this.

The thing about access is you have to decide to enter. A key is only useful when it unlocks something. For those in Christ, grace is always available, welling up like a river at a dam. It lovingly, endlessly invites us to open the floodgates.

When we're in a rut, when we're anxious and tired, when we're crushed and depressed, when we feel guilty, disconnected, and unloved, we can choose to access grace. We can remember our standing in Christ, take a deep breath, and tell Him we receive His favor. It's a gift that changes everything.