stewards of grace

been reading through ephesians lately. trying to look at it with new eyes, reading slowly, asking the Spirit to guide me. several things have stuck out to me lately, but i have really been thinking of something i read in chapter 3.

paul just casually mentions at the beginning of chapter three about how the ephesians have probably heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to him ... and then he goes on to make his point. but this idea of 'stewardship of God's grace' really got me.

we are to be stewards of His grace. When he graces us with his presence, his provision and his guidance, it is a gift given to us from the living God. his grace is something that he gives us, something we should not take for granted.
He graces us with his presence in our lives, and we have a responsibility to respond. We have a responsibility to treasure and value his grace, not to waste it or use it cheaply.

what does this look like exactly? well for us, it may mean going to these jobs that we hate so much... we wake up each morning dreading going to our jobs - they are environments we aren't crazy about and often it seems like there isn't any kingdom value in what we're doing (making sure metal gets delivered and waiting tables...) but the truth is that these jobs are God's grace to us in this season. We hope and believe he will give us direction and this season will shift into more meaningful and purposeful work, but until then - we have meaning and purpose in this ... in being stewards of his grace. in working hard at our jobs, which are expressions of his grace.

show us your grace, all the more. may our eyes be always open to see the gifts you give us, and may we be good stewards of these gifts. may we value your presence in our lives. may we respond to your grace in a way that shows we are grateful and may you gain glory in this.

may we see your work in our lives in a way that cannot be explained away by things of this world. we want the world to see your work and to know that nothing natural can explain what is happening. we want to see hard hearts healed, we want to see reconciliation and restoration. we want to see you, we want to work for you and your glory. we want to respond to your grace. we want to be stewards of your grace.