Past, Present, and Future Grace

"Future grace”—grace that we can confidently depend on because we have evidence of grace that we have already been gifted with in faith—“past grace”, is the essence of Romans 8:28, perhaps one of the most recognized pillars of promise in the Bible. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”. Though sacred in the hearts and minds of many believers, it is also a passage of scripture easily discounted in times of great difficulty.

This “all encompassing promise is massively rooted in the irrevocable work of bygone grace”, writes author and Pastor John Piper about this precious promise. Don’t miss this—the grace we have already received cannot be undone, it cannot be taken away, or diminished with time. It is the evidence we crave to our unseen hope. It is as permanent as are the nail pierced scares on Jesus’ hands and the love in which His incomprehensible grace is gifted.  I picture Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, tracing the scares with his finger as he whispers our name. “For you”, He says, “all for you, my best and nothing less. To you I give my unsurpassing promise that all things, yes, Beloved, all things will work together for those who love me and are called according to my purpose”.

Bygone grace. The word “bygone” as a description of grace pierces my heart, inflicting a convicting, saddening pain; for the word’s undercurrent is a wistful longing for what once was as if it was unlikely to reoccur.   Grace’s life-giving breath tends to become deflated as we move through one trial into another. The vibrancy of our gratitude pastels with time and our zeal wanes. I am reminded and encouraged by the Old Testament story of Joshua leading twelve men, one from each tribe, across the Jordan River into the Promise Land. When God gave Joshua this instruction, He also told him that each of these men were to “take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests stood, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight” (Joshua 4:2-3). Can you picture the stones? I am sure my imagination has been tainted by Sunday School felt board stories, but I picture them being rather significant in size. They had to have been, for they were to be piled up, bringing attention to their significant meaning: God had grace on them in a mighty way! Their children and their children’s children would ask what the stones meant and thus began a beautiful story of the grace that God bestowed on them. 

What I find encouraging is that these stone markers were not a one time event. The men of the Old Testament often built alters or pillars of stones, architecture of past grace, as a reminder of God’s sovereignty and confidence in future grace. Can you imagine, walking along the stone markers with your child and sharing the countless acts of grace that God had gifted us with? I can practically hear the child begging, “Oh, tell me about the time when God…”, as her eyes dance in anticipation of a story she has surely heard before. The story doesn’t get old; it breathes life into the next generation. For the child, the stories are the beginning of an intimate love relationship with their Heavenly Father. For the adult, it not only reminds us of God’s ever watchful eye and guiding hand, but gives us the courage to go into battle confidently…confidently, because we are certain that His grace will once again wash over us completely.

Allowing myself to nestle deeply in the precious promise of Romans 8:28, I find myself deeply grateful that my merciful God would even look my way, not to mention sacrificing His Son for me and cheer me on in this fleeting life, all the while promising me that all things will work together for those who love Him. Humbly, I attempt to thank Him for this bountiful gift. My words are feeble as they could never portray what my heart feels. Grace is the receiving something we don’t deserve—we haven’t earned it, we can’t do it ourselves. The definition usually stops here. However, I believe that we cannot repay grace. We are not meant to, perhaps it is impossible. Instead, we are meant to treasure the gift, allowing it to nurture the roots that are required to confidently and authentically live within this verse.  The deeper the roots, the stronger the structure, so it is with us. The deeper our roots are in Christ, the more unshakable we become in life’s inevitable trials.

The world offers a mirage of substitutes, offering quick fixes, temporary hope and happiness. With time, its shallow root system decays and we find ourselves back at square one. Living, really living in the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28, we have confidence in our sovereign God, a refuge, security, and hope that only God can graciously give.  This is not to say that as Christians we will not suffer. We most assuredly will suffer. We will face trials of all kinds. It is in these trails, in our pain that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”. That’s the goal: to bring glory to Christ, to magnify His name in all seasons. Please don’t miss this, as it is the heartbeat of our faith.

Without a doubt, there have been times when we, as Christians---those called by God for his purpose--have not been rescued in the way we hoped or escaped a painful situation. Bad things do happen to good people. God is not the author of evil. He will, however, use those situations to bring glory to His name. We can have complete confidence in the fact that what He began in us, he will complete. He will work all things together for our good because “[our]calling guarantees [our] justification; and [our] justification in turn, guarantees [our] glorification; and glorification is the ultimate fulfillment of Romans 8:28—endless ages of seeing God make everything in the universe serve our holy joy in Him”. (John Piper)

With each stone marker, I will praise Him for His sovereign grace, the fulfilling of His promises, and know with absolute certainty He will continue to work all things together in my life until Romans 8:28 is fulfilled. Joy floods my soul at this thought!

“We shall bring our Lord most glory if we get from Him much grace. If I have much faith, so that I can take God at His word…I shall greatly honor my Lord and King”. Charles Spurgeon