Grace is a treasure beyond price!

If you were to list those things which are essential to your life would you include grace? Food, shelter and clothing are easy to recognize as elements necessary to sustain your life but I doubt that you would include grace as an urgent requirement. Even among those who have experienced grace, its valuable nature is seldom fully recognized. To discount grace is easy to do. We are always selling it short.

Grace is a universal need. It is more valuable than gold, diamonds, stocks or bonds, and more to be desired than position or power. No matter how satisfied you may be with your present life, you will be hard pressed to discover any facet of your life which could not be enriched by an added expression of grace. Raising your GQ1 will enable you to develop a more positive self image and enhance your skills for relating with others. It is the resource which holds the potential to enrich life beyond your ability to imagine.

Among other things, grace unlocks the door to a creative life. It encourages the discovery of unique abilities. It is the antidote to anxiety. It is the source of true freedom. It has the amazing power to transform your enemy into your friend.

Grace is the agent which will enable you to experience fulfillment of your fondest dreams and highest aspirations. Grace offers you the opportunity to tap into an unlimited reservoir of resources which can help you triumph over every challenge life may send your way.

If you think that I have overstated the ability of grace to enrich life, you have been discounting grace. You have followed the pattern of thinking which has characterized the human race since the beginning of time.

The definition of grace which is the focus of this book describes an attitude demonstrating favor or good will toward others. This is usually the third or fourth listing in the dictionaries.

Many examples of grace are found in secular society although they are seldom called grace. A prime example is the attitude of parents toward their offspring. Parental love is the norm in every culture. It is characterized by favor and good will. A child who does not receive at least a minimum expression of grace will not survive.

New research by behavioral scientists offers convincing proof that the key to solving many of the problems facing our society lies in learning to practice grace in interpersonal relationships. Again, these insights are not called grace. Instead, their emphasis is on the developing of skills for relating to individuals in such a fashion that their self image is enhanced or that their personhood is acknowledged. It is impossible to do this if your relationship with the other person does not reflect favor and good will.

Although grace is demonstrated by individuals in every culture, our understanding of and appreciation for grace is, in large measure, the result of Gods activity. He has extended grace to mankind throughout history. Ultimately, He sent His Son, Jesus, who was grace personified.2 By Jesus life and in His death we see a perfect demonstration of grace in action.

Those who crucified Jesus rejected the grace concept, thereby providing a clear example of the tendency of mankind to discount grace. The dynamic power of the Christian movement in subsequent history provides dramatic testimony that grace is superior to their legalistic approach to relationships.

For the first time mankind had a concrete example of the power of grace to transform lives. Those who opened their lives to this experience found that their lives were changed dramatically. They, in turn, changed their world in a manner which was revolutionary. Those parts of the world in which Christianity has had a significant influence demonstrate a more compassionate attitude towards the personhood of the individual than the rest of the world.

Significant influences in the life of most people make it difficult for them to recognize that grace is the catalyst which enables an individual to live life to the fullest. In fact, many people discount grace because they view its expression as a sign of weakness. It is necessary to assume a radically different point of view in order to gain an understanding of the value of grace.

The bias of mankind against grace has made it difficult for men to understand Gods graceful nature. It became necessary for God to send His Son to live as a man among men in order to demonstrate grace in action.3

Christianity loses its power when it fails to demonstrate the same characteristics of grace which motivated Jesus. The same bias which clouded the understanding of grace in the pre-Christian world has influenced the interpretation of Jesus life and death. The history of Christianity reflects many ways in which the church ignored the central position of grace in His teaching and example.

Contemporary Christianitys witness is weakened by this same problem. Even among those individuals who have discovered graces power, grace is not always a significant factor in their daily living. It is viewed as Gods gift which assures them of eternal life. Many seem unaware that grace has other important gifts which can enrich life.

We urgently need to sweep aside our preconceived notions about the nature of grace and take a new look at it as it has been revealed in Jesus. We need to find Gods point of view on this important subject.
1 GQ stands for Grace Quotient -- a term coined by the author.
2 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. John 1:14, [italics mine]
3 The prologue to the book of John [John 1:1-18] makes it clear that grace and truth were primary characteristics revealed in Jesus.