Grace is the foundation for growth.

-Coffee and Bible Time

Part of my journey as an adoptive parent has involved going through lots of training on the effects of childhood trauma.

One interesting thing that we learned early in our training is that children who feel safe and have a secure attachment to a trusted caregiver take more risks.

Children who do not experience consistent, loving attachments quickly begin to perceive the world as frightening and dangerous.

They will often start to miss developmental milestones as they subconsciously decide to limit their exploration to preserve their own safety.

Living in Grace gives us the freedom to Fail, Repent, and Grow Closer to God. Living according to our own best efforts leads us to live in constant Fear of Failure.

Similarly, when we don’t have a secure attachment to our heavenly father, built on faith;

that Jesus will graciously pick us up when we fall and comfort us amid the messes we make, we miss the opportunity to grow and flourish in the way we were designed.

Grace is the foundation for growth.

Read Luke 15:11-32.

This famous parable tells the story of two sons with very different experiences with their father.

One of the sons was reckless;

he took gifts from his father and squandered them until he found himself in a desperate situation,

and had to come to his father begging for forgiveness.

Meanwhile, the older son stayed at home and- at least in his estimation- lived in strict obedience to his father.

Yet, in a surprising twist, the father rejoiced over his wayward son while his law-abiding son rejected the opportunity to celebrate with his father.

Why was one son embraced and the other estranged?

The younger son chose to live in the reality of his father’s grace, while the older son chose to live by the law of self-righteousness.

Grace is the foundation for growth.

Living in grace gives us the freedom to fail, repent, and grow closer to God.

Living according to our own best efforts leads us to live in constant fear of failure.

Knowing that God offers us daily grace emboldened Abraham to bargain with God,

Jacob to wrestle with God,

David to trust that he was truly redeemed,

and Paul to speak out against popular opinion.

Misunderstanding God’s grace led the Pharisees to rewrite stricter versions of the law,

their ‘hedge around the law,’ that effectively boxed them into an unsustainable lifestyle.

Grace is the foundation for growth.

God’s grace sets us free from the bonds of perfection and self-preservation,

giving us the opportunity to grow as well-loved children of the king.

Read Luke 15:11-32 slowly and carefully. Reflect on what you have read and consider the following:

1. What lie did the older son in the parable believe? How can you guard yourself against internalizing lies?
2. There are many places in the Bible that use the metaphor of a father and child to describe the relationship between man and God. What does an ideal parent-child relationship look like? How is this similar or different from your relationship with God?

Pray, and tell God about what you have learned from this passage.

Ask God to illuminate anything that you are struggling to grasp.

Consider what you learned about God and use what you have learned to direct your worship.

Grace is the foundation for growth.

Luke 15:11-32 KJV

[11] And he said, A certain man had two sons:

[12] and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

[13] And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

[14] And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

[15] And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

[16] And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

[17] And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

[18] I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

[19] and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

[20] And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

[21] And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

[22] But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

[23] and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

[24] for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

[25] Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

[26] And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

[27] And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

[28] And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

[29] And he answering said to his father,

Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment:

and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

[30] but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

[31] And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

[32] It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.15.11.KJV

Also Read: You Don’t Outgrow the Need for Jesus’ Grace. – Diademng (thediademng.org)

Grace is the foundation for growth.