The Greek word for “great” is mega! You know it as we use it to measure large or huge quantities like megatons. Luke tells us in Acts 4:33 that the Apostles had “mega-power” and “mega-grace.” He writes, “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” The NIV uses the phrase “much grace.” When we think of the idea of sharing our faith with others, sharing our faith story with others, it is very often reduced to a “mega-work” rather than a “mega-grace” experience. We’re often exhorted to tell others, we are ambassadors for Christ, our mission is to make disciples, etc. Of course, these are true, but testifying to the love of God expressed through His Son Jesus should never be done from a guilt or compulsory motif. It becomes a work that is displeasing to God.

There is a radical difference between testifying to God’s love from a “grace” relationship with God and testifying to God’s love from a “works” relationship with God. One writer said this: When the concept of our relationship to God is service-oriented, we will relate to Him as a divine Employer who scrutinizes our activity to make sure it is up to standard. Our focus will be on our performance as we attempt to do the things we believe He requires. This mindset reflects a legalistic view of the Christian life, a view that’s erroneous. God doesn’t want us to focus on our service to Him. When grace rules our lives, we focus on Him. In doing so, we experience intimacy in such a way that service becomes a natural overflow of the love relationship we have with Him. When we focus on our performance, Christian service becomes perfunctory and lifeless. When we are obsessed with Him, our service is literally energized with divine life.

The appreciation of God’s love for us as expressed on Calvary’s Cross must remain the motivation behind our work and service. It must not be motivated out of guilt or performed as a compulsory task. Service is truly a joyful experience! Paul actually tells the Galatians that it’s a dance. He writes in 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” The mega-fruits of the spirit are nourished, watered and fertilized by God’s mega-grace. As far as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control go there is no “law” regarding these things, they are the fruits that grow from God’s Spirit indwelling our lives. Our walk with the Spirit is a dance. The Spirit leads and we follow with all the love and joy imaginable.

Chuck
For all the previous devotions go to www.chucklarsen.com