But by the grace of God I am what I am ...

But by the grace of God I am what I am ...
	1 Corinthians 15:10
‘Who shall I say sent me?’ Moses asked God when told he was to lead the Israelites out of bondage. And God said unto Moses, ‘I AM THAT I AM,’ (Exodus 3:14). I suggest to you that this phrase was ringing in Paul’s mind and resonating in his heart when he said, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am’ — for in Exodus 34, God went on to explain just Who He is ... The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6-7 Because of the injustice which seems to plague our culture, we could have a tendency to think that if God came on the scene today, surely it would be as a God of Justice. Yet while God is indeed just, He chooses instead to identify Himself as merciful and gracious. What a relief this should be to us. Justice means getting what we deserve. And who of us would dare say, ‘Lord, give me what I deserve’? Mercy, on the other hand, means being spared judgment which we rightfully deserve — and grace goes even farther than that, for grace means getting blessings we don’t deserve. But God didn’t stop there. He went on to say that He is longsuffering. The Hebrew word for longsuffering means l-o-n-g suffering. ‘Why aren’t You doing something, God? ‘How can You put up with Him?’, or, ‘Why don’t You deal with them?’ we cry. God bears with the sin we see in others for the same reason He bears with the sin He sees in us: He is longsuffering. That’s His nature. And He’s abundant in goodness and truth — lavishing blessings upon us, being completely honest and truthful with us. God alone is the One Who is merciful to thousands, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin. And even if generation after generation continues to turn their back on Him, He visits each one, bringing conviction for the purpose of conversion. ‘What gives me the right, the authority to correct you?’ Paul could have asked the Corinthians. ‘There was a time when I thought I had earned that right. After all, I was born into the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised the eighth day, a Pharisee of Pharisees, zealous for the Law, righteous in my behavior. But although I was religious outwardly, I was sinning inwardly. And all of my attempts to earn God’s blessing, all of my seeking to manipulate Him to get Him to bless me proved to be a waste (Philippians 3:7). Now I know I’m a sinner. But because God is Who He is — because He is merciful and gracious, longsuffering and forgiving, I am what I am: a trophy of His grace.’ Daily Manna in Facebook This article is penned by Pastor Jon Courson.