Grace upon Grace

When little children make their Christmas list for Santa, they feel sure they will receive some of the things they enumerate. If they've been very, very good, they might receive most of them. But usually they know there are limits to what Santa will bring them unless they have over-indulgent parents.

But with God, there are no limits to his goodness. In John's gospel for Christmas we hear, "From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." We have all been blessed with fullness, pressed down and brimming over, but we are mostly unaware of it. When we receive the fullness of God, we know it will never run out, but keeps on coming because there is no end of God's  grace.

To be flooded with grace is like receiving continually flowing water. We never have to thirst or worry about running dry. It refreshes us constantly. We can do nothing to earn it; it is given to us freely.

We take it all for granted most of the time.The changing beauty of the seasons, the cascading waterfalls, the majestic mountains, the crystalline snow, the tropical rain forests, the myriad varieties of fish and animals, fields of wild flowers. Our planet is rich with and abundance of natural resources. Even if we don't have material wealth, most of us are blessed with family, friends, community. Even if we don't have good health, we have medical care that alleviates most of our pains. Even if we are homeless or unemployed, God inspires goodness in others to care for us.

All is grace.