Grace To Grow By In Recovery (1)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 1:8-9 NIV)

What is grace and what does it have to do with a person in recovery?  The dictionary definition of the word grace includes terms such as:  1) Service freely rendered; good will.  2) The act of showing favour.  3) Clemency, mercy.  4) The love of God towards man.  Each of these definitions indicates that grace is not earned, but is given without cost and without having been solicited by the intended receiver.  The giver does not seek to benefit from giving the gift; it is solely given to benefit the receiver.  Grace would not be grace if it was solicited or earned.  The intended receiver’s part is either to accept the gift being offered, or choose to reject it.  The word “grace” correctly identifies the extravagant love our Heavenly Father has towards us.  We cannot earn this love; we can only receive it!

While we wandered in our addictive behaviours and didn’t even know God, He gave His son as the sacrifice for our sins in order that we might have freedom from the penalty of sin. The Bible tells us that Jesus humbled Himself and came in the likeness of men.  He submitted Himself to death on the cross so that we, by His death and resurrection, might be saved from an eternity without God. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. (1 John 4:10 MSG)

Even though, in our addiction, we have lived in willful disobedience against God, He is still there beside us when we choose to go through the recovery process with Him.  No matter how shameful and evil our past behaviours, He welcomes us with outstretched arms and encourages us to a new life through faith in His Son. 

When we choose for recovery, we may not know much about God, or His son Jesus, but He knows all about us and cares for each of us.  We make ourselves available to life in recovery when we don’t “pick up” our substance of choice.  However, true recovery is possible only when we choose to receive God’s gift of grace.  Through faith in Jesus, we are “born again” and all things have become new.  We find ourselves in this place of grace, not by anything we have done for ourselves but by what Jesus did on our behalf.  For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”  (Romans 1:16-17 NLT)