There are many things we are called to be good stewards of. Time and money are the obvious ones. Maybe you think about health or, gifts and talents. Good stewards of any of these are easily spotted. You might even be able to identify what makes them a good steward. Today, in Ephesians 3, Paul suggests grace as an additional item to steward.
Each of the items I mentioned has significant value. To maintain it, they require care. Vigilance even. This is particularly true for grace. Why? Because we will always choose strength over grace. To harsh? Consider Peter. He was sure that his strength of faith was enough to keep him clean. He believed that right up until he heard the rooster crow (Mark 14:72). Suddenly, he understood his greater need for grace.
There is a significant contrast between Peter and Paul. First, Paul had a keen awareness of his weakness. He testifies, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me (Romans 7:21-23). This confession allows Paul to understand that there is no way out of sin. Instead, he must have a way through it. So do we.
Grace offers us a way through it. It comes, fully and freely, upon our remembrance of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. Paul says it well in Romans 8:11, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”