God initiates his grace in our lives by his Holy Spirit and invites us to cooperate with it as we grow in our relationship with him. But what is that grace meant to accomplish in our lives? And how do we sustain a relationship with a Being we cannot see and with whom we cannot converse face to face?
The answer is this: God gives us what Christians have long referred to as “means of grace.” David Mathis says “It is the grace of God that gives us His ‘means of grace’ for our ongoing perseverance and growth and joy this side of the coming new creation.”
As we take hold of these means, we grow in knowledge and faith, we persevere in the Christian life, and we experience joy as we await the coming new creation. These means of grace are the disciplines or habits through which we can relate to God in ever-deeper ways.
By giving us these means, God shows that we really do have the privilege of relating to him, but he also shows that we cannot relate to him in whatever ways we may want or we may deem suitable. While we can genuinely be friends with God, he is the one who sets the terms and conditions of that friendship. To us falls the joyful privilege of cooperating with his grace according to his means.
