Grace is far more than a theological construct; grace is the foundation of eternal life as well as abundant living here and now. The irony is that while life itself does not exist apart from grace, so many of us seemingly strive to grow beyond it. Discipleship is not a bold step forward into self-reliance; it is a desperate collapse into the Father’s embrace. Only in the Christ-life is victory achieved through unconditional surrender.

“My newfound helplessness led me to a far more personal understanding of the grace I had always preached. I found myself clinging to it like never before, gulping it down because my thirsty soul couldn’t get enough. Previously, I would have assumed the goal of discipleship was to need the cross less and less as I matured. Instead I found the opposite was true: I needed it more and more. And I began to see that the Bible challenges us to grow in grace – not grow out of it.” (Jeff Peabody, author of Perfectly Suited: The Armor of God for the Anxious Mind.)