“Seeing” the Grace of God
Tony Cooke
The #1 question I am asked about concerning my travels is this, “What are you seeing as you travel to the different churches?” This is usually asked by pastors who are curious about trends (are other churches growing, plateaued, or declining?), about challenges faced by churches in other parts of the country, or about what strategies and approaches are working in other congregations.
All of those are great things to consider, but my primary observation in visiting churches is not so analytically oriented. I relate more to what Barnabas experienced when he was sent to visit the church in Antioch: “When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord” (Acts 11:23 NKJV). I had noticed that verse years before I began traveling, and I remember wondering, “What does the grace of God look like?”
Other versions of Scripture might give us some insight on that.
(NLT) “When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing…”
(NIV) “When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done…”
(AMPC) “When he arrived and saw what grace (favor) God was bestowing upon them…”
(MSG) “As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all.”
I believe Barnabas saw lives that had been and were being impacted and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. He saw that people had been born again and were growing in their faith. He saw that people were worshipping with joy and gratefulness over what Jesus had done for them and for what the Holy Spirit was doing in them. He would also would have witnessed people loving one another and serving God together.
And how did Barnabas respond to all of this? “He was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.”
There is a time for strategic analyses and for evaluating what we can do better. But it’s also important to stop and appreciate the good that God has already done and is continuing to do in our lives, and this is true whether we pastor a church or not. Even in our homes, relationships, and workplaces, are we pausing to really be grateful for what we have? Are we enjoying each step of the journey?
Sometimes discouragement tries to settle in when we see things moving in the wrong direction or when we are not getting the results we’d like. This is when we remember Paul’s determination, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT).
Always see the grace of God when it is in operation — when He is working. And when troubles vie for your attention, be sure to fix your gaze on things that are not perceptible to the human senses, to the promises, to the goodness, and to the presence of God.
