We often pray for our Savior’s grace when we fail at something important to us, especially in spiritual matters. But we may not be as sure to recognize and praise Him in times we experience His grace in success.
A Gift for All Seasons
Emily Belle Freeman described how the Savior blesses us with His Grace in both needs.
Christ enables our progress through grace. His saving grace rescues us, heals us, delivers us, and helps us overcome death, sin, and the weakness of mortality.
She then introduced other times we receive the gift.
“His exalting grace enables progression, increase, and transformation—the ability to become as He is and eventually receive the Father’s fulness.”
If we talk about grace only when it comes to sin and sorrows, we miss the power of grace in success, which supports and enhances things that are going well.
His Infinite Atonement
The ultimate statement of the Savior’s grace is, of course, His own words:
And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father . . . And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works. . . . [And] nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. [And] nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. (3 Nephi 27:14–15, 19)
He suffered things we could not even imagine to bring all of us unto Him, offering this grace to all who will come unto Him and accept it. Those drawn unto the Savior’s grace in success are experiencing the grace of His atonement in a context in which they currently need it. When they need grace in other contexts, He is willing to give them what He knows they need and will accept.
A Gift for Eternity
Brad Wilcox has taken us into the grace of eternal promise.
The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8) . . . The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there.
The pride cycle in the Book of Mormon warns students of scripture to not ignore God when things are going well and then turn to Him only when war and famine hit. We see that humble disciples of God regularly practice praising God, recognizing that grace is the power that wins wars, cultivates crops, and achieves awards.
Emily Belle Freeman added exaltation to the grace categories.
He plans to lift us up, to return us back to the presence of God—to where He is, as He is. For that, He offers exalting grace—grace to become. Just like saving grace, this grace that elevates souls is also a gift. If you reach out to fully embrace it, if that becomes paramount, your life will never be the same.
Grace is a divine gift. Grace in success empowers and enables, assists and aids, permits and perfects. Praise God and His grace in the trials and the triumphs, in current needs and in future hopes, in uncertainty and in expectation. Grace is for our needs and, maybe even more importantly, for our joy.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In