Grace is the Greek word ‘Charis’, which speaks of favour and kindness. It means to be favourably disposed towards a person, or to lean towards a person to show kindness and bestow benefits on them. It is predominantly used to describe the Lord’s favour, by which He freely gave His life for humankind because of His great love. God freely extends Himself in our favour, just because He feels inclined to bless us. This fact is actually amazing!
When you read John 1, you realize that Jesus Christ is the personification of Grace! We see in John 1: 16 that Jesus is all we need in life. In Him is life itself! (John 1: 4) No matter what your challenges are, the reality is that it is not a child that you need, or a husband, or a wife, or a house, or a job, or affection, or money, or fame. We need Jesus Christ; the One who is full of grace and truth (John 1: 14). When we have Christ, He gives us access to everything else that we need (2 Peter 1: 3).
It is important to understand the distinction between spirit, soul and body. Our spirits are made from God’s Spirit, our bodies are made from the earth, and our souls (which consist of the mind and emotions) are the channel between our bodies and our spirits (Genesis 2: 7). Having said this, note that energy flows where attention goes. Therefore, the challenge for every believer is to actively keep the Word of God on our minds (souls) and to treasure it. Keeping God’s grace on your mind will disarm the forces that seek to rattle and disturb you.
It is possible to be a Christian and still have a wrong mind-set. Having a faulty mind-set will always lead to taking wrong actions. Thus, when one notices one’s actions are wrong, it is important to re-align with the Word of God and receive renewed thinking (Romans 12:1-2).
Scholars tell us that each person has a personal ideology, which is made up of four things- sociology (how you relate to the outer world and your environment), physiology (the interface between your inner world and your outer world), psychology (ideas in your mind), and theology (your study and idea of God). In order to have a Grace-based ideology, please note the following-
Prioritise the Word of God – theology;
Agree with the Word; this means to adopt the Word of God as one’s approach to every situation in life – psychology;
Speak the Word of God over yourself. In this way, you enforce it over your body – physiology; and
Relate to the world based on your theology- sociology.
All of the above take place in one’s mind. To have an ideology built on God’s grace is to be filled to overflowing with the awareness of God’s Word, and His amazing love, kindness and power, which are at work on your behalf!