I thank God for Gods Grace today. The blessings that surround me, and the gentle nudge from up above to be more and do more.

It is by the Grace of God, which we are given favor. How do we explain favor? How do we explain the unknown part of Gods Love? As Grace is the undeserved gift, or the undeserved forgiveness; the kindness and mercy in which God gives us. It is a gift from God.

In other words, God has our back.  How does Grace show up?  Perhaps it is in the timing of a blessing you experienced in a time of need, or a word you needed to hear after praying for an answer, the synchronicity from an unexpected meeting, or the time, you were there just at the right moment. Or perhaps a call from a friend to share  the inspiration you needed that day.

God will gift you with Grace, you don’t have to earn it, you don’t have to prove it, it is yours unconditionally.

A man came up to me after Church and said, ” I don’t understand this “undeserved gift” I feel that I am deserving.”  and in response I explained what is meant by “undeserving”: of course you do deserve Grace, you see God is not conditional. You don’t have to earn Gods Grace, it just shows up, inexplicably. However, you may not see it, until you turn around and accept the direction of Gods good in your life. Only then, will you recognize Gods Grace, has always been there. As you move towards the direction of God in your life, Gods Grace is present everywhere. God doesn’t expect you to finish the race to be given with his favor. God is there with you on the journey, as you surrender to the idea that you are his journey, the journey of Goodness.

The From the Book of Luke in the Bible, he speaks of The Parable of the Lost Son. This is a fine example of Gods Grace.

Luke 15:20

” And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ” 

We will break this down into 3 parts:

The first part is the son, who represents our humanness, and the son who surrendered to his father. Metaphysically, the word Father represents God. When the son decided to ask for help from the father, “he arose”. This statement represents his awareness of turning around to ask God for help.. and in doing so, he gave up what he had and surrendered as he moved in another direction. He decided to face the direction of his father, and in doing so,  surrendered and moved away from his destructive life without him.

The second part; ” his father saw him and had compassion”. God saw him and he had compassion. Well it is Gods Love which is Divine Order. So if God is Love, then compassion is that which brings Gods Love. Compassion is the embodiment of our Creator. Compassion lifts us above Ego. It is our God-Mind that we know, as God, within us.

Compassion is a higher expression of Gods Love, through people. Compassion includes the three God given qualities of: humbleness, courageousness and just. Who is compassionate? It is the acts of compassion that usher in Gods Grace, as with the father in this parable. How many times did you allow your compassion to lie dormant and you did or said nothing?

Compassion is the very act of God knocking on your door, saying, let me express my Grace, through you, my humble servant. God promises us the kingdom, and it is yours, and you get to deliver my Grace through your compassion, vows God. As in surrender, by turning around and facing Gods Will, the Father, God, does every time, even more than we do for ourselves.

How many times in our humanness, did you hide the quality of compassion because you thought it was a weakness, that which society taught you?  How many times did you hold on to any thoughts that were lesser than Gods Love for you and those around you? Ignoring compassion, or pushing it aside, dismisses Gods Grace.

Gods Grace comes through compassion. Some aren’t ready to hear it. Some aren’t listening to how compassion shows up. God and I are one, and Gods Grace comes through you and too you. You, as God Mind, just may provide the message of compassion for someone, which in turn ushers in Gods Grace in their life.

And lastly, “The father ran and embraced him and kissed him” 

The father did not even wait till the son arrived, just as God does not expect to meet you after the journey is over. You do not have to earn Grace. God meets you, and runs to you, when you turn around and face him, and walk in his direction, just as the son, in the Parable, who walked towards the father.

This message is a reminder, are you flowing in the right direction? Are you moving towards Gods Love? Going with the Flow, and actively swimming with the current, all the while, the current is Gods Grace. That which takes you in the direction of Goodness in our lives, without that feeling of resistance, while rowing against the tide.

Going with the flow, the perpetual flow, of Gods Grace, Divinely Ordered, in the river of life. You are in the process of becoming, and we get to allow (surrender) and allow Gods Grace to take us there.

The Universe is ever expanding and ever supporting. Your Grace is always active and is Gods Goodness in a much greater magnitude than you have ever given yourself.

A Closing Prayer from The Quest, A Journey of Personal  & Spiritual Transformation

Great Spirit of this Universe, how glorious are your ways. My human heart cannot fully grasp the magnitude of all your Good. yet I know I am yours. I know that there is nowhere I can go and nothing I could be when I would not be in your Loving Care.

Thank you God, Amen.

This was an excerpt from the service delivered at Unity of St. Petersburg by Rev. Lori on October 7, 2023.