This post by kathylarkman was originally published at GRACE PLACE
CATHERINE DONOVAN, CONTRIBUTOR FOR TODAY’S POST
I don’t know if you ever wondered why the Old Testament plot on the life of God’s chosen people Israel reads like “paradise- evil-destruction/captivity- redemption” almost on a continuous loop. There is creation, the flood, then Abraham. Joseph’s family ends up in Egypt, followed by slavery then release from captivity and entry into the Promised Land. You then have the Kings, the divide of the Kingdom, exile (Daniel’s time) then release from captivity. It’s no wonder the hope that Israel had was Jesus would be an earthly king releasing them from the Roman rule.
Yet the message of Jesus is Salvation by grace. This grace is the undeserved love of God. Grace brings salvation and teaches, enables us to say “No to ungodliness” (Titus 2:11). I am reminded of the three parables in Luke 15, the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In each of these parables, the search for the one who is lost does not stop until they are found. And this is always followed by rejoicing. This is how much our Father God loves us. Just like a child, I am keen to say, “ I know better. . I can do my own thing”. 
I am keen to rebel. However, when I grasp how much God loves me, that He loves me enough to have died for me; that stops me in my tracks and I am beckoned to obedience because of His love. God’s grace speaks love which we all thirst for. If I trust His love, I am happy to stay home instead of wandering away from his arms.
However, in our fallen world which does not know unconditional love, the reality of the truth that “love” underpins that grace cannot be known. How can I possibly understand a love that I do not know, cannot see or have not experienced? The grace of God brought salvation through the cross and more. Jesus said:
I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit who reveals all things and helps us to understand this unfathomable truth. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I can obey God, obey His commandments and love Him who first loved me. God’s gift of salvation has rebirthed us to be God’s offspring. His children. We can confidently say: “ in him we live and move and have our being…We are his offspring.”(Acts 17:28)