Grace Has Appeared

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11)

Grace is invisible. You can’t see undeserved love. That’s what grace is: God’s undeserved love that he showers on sinners like us. We have a God who is full of grace for sinners. Yet, grace is invisible.

That can make trusting in God’s grace hard. By nature, we’re not used to undeserved love. We’re used to trying to deserve it. We think we have to earn God’s favor. Can we really be sure that God loves us?

Yes! How? “The grace of God has appeared.” Grace is invisible, and yet grace appeared right here on earth. When? The first Christmas night. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, our invisible God became a visible human being like us. God’s grace took on a form: Jesus. Want to see grace? Look at Jesus!

“The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” Do you hear what God’s grace brings to us? Salvation! Why? Because we all need to be saved! Our hearts aren’t pure. They are sinful. You know that. So Jesus came to bring us what we don’t deserve: Salvation. Forgiveness. Life. It’s all through Jesus. It’s all by grace. Can you see it? “The grace of God has appeared that brings salvation.”

Here’s the kicker: “To all people.” God’s grace is for “all people.” Are you part of “all people”? Yes! Then God’s grace is for you. No matter how you feel, no matter what others say, God loves you!

You need someone to care about you. Jesus cares so much about you that he left his throne in heaven to live with us on earth. Grace has appeared! You need someone to take your sins away. To change your past. Jesus won salvation by his death on the cross. Your past is forgiven. Grace has appeared! You need someone to give you hope for the future. There is no greater hope than the hope of eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus. Grace has appeared! You need someone to stand by you. Always. Whenever you see Jesus, in the manger or on the cross, you can know, “God is with me. Always!” 

Grace is usually invisible. You can’t see undeserved love. Yet, Jesus appeared to show us God’s grace. Every time you hear a story about Jesus, you can know this: “I am loved!” Because grace has appeared.

Dear Jesus, thank you for making God’s undeserved love visible to us. When we see you in God’s Word and Sacraments, may we be absolutely sure in our hearts that “God loves me!” Amen. 

Pastor Nathan