Intro to the Bible: Reflection Paper 1 Gerry Limoso Gods Never-ending Grace As a New Testament believer, I have always

had my point of view conditioned by the dispensational idea that the time of grace is from the time of Christ and only from that period. The Old Testament time is normally referred to as the time of the law, where believers day-to-day righteousness depended on fulfilling the requirements of the law and blessings dependent also on the same. Once in while, passages like Hebrews 11 will give some hints about faith as the basis of real and everlasting righteousness but still not much about Gods grace unfolding for people of the old dispensation. A close reading of Genesis changed all that. To say that Gods grace was right there from the very beginning of mankind will not even do justice to the word. After all, grace or the ability to dispense thereof, must be one of Gods attributes and therefore had always been and always will be, God being unchangeable in His essence. Remarkable this idea already as it is, seeing it unfold in the lives of real people like Adam, Abraham and their progeny certainly gives my inattentive soul that jolt necessary for wakefulness to Gods never-ending grace. The stories of Genesis are all familiar. From a state of being good even in the eyes of the Creator Himself, man fell into sin, thus disrupting more than just his physical and spiritual makeup but everything else that matters to him his relationships (both personal and spiritual) and his environment. It was downward spiral from there for this poor creature if not for the grace that, at sundry times, God dispenses and gives man hope - that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel when everything else seems bleak and heavy with darkness. And darkness it is with man even now. Just like in the time of Lamech in Genesis chapter 4, we are living in a time of unprecedented progress in technology, culture and arts, medicine, etc. Yet in spite of all these knowledge and progress, man has not gone any higher than appreciate his own reflection as he stares at the mirror. It doesnt help that children are being indoctrinated with self-glorifying mantras and later turn into adults who have no regard for the things beyond what the eyes can see. When all else is put side for the sake of selfish gains, we are now again, even for the worse, in a state where the climate is heavy and where unrighteousness is palpable and has that right-in-your-face audacity. If there ever be a time when the grace of God is sorely needed, it is at these times. But just like the Genesis narratives, God shows His hands in a way thats visible enough for those who have ears that long to listen and eyes that long to see. God has not allowed His churches to go out of vogue as yet. Learning institutions that teach His people how to discern His ways better are still going strong and doing magnificent jobs proportional to the grace given. Christian organizations that exist to promote the gospel for the salvation of souls of men and propagation of the truth of the bible are still reaching farther and farther into areas previously never penetrated by biblical teachings. These lights are now manifestations of that never-ending grace. These lights will continue to burn as long as necessary for the salvation of such as should be saved. In the brightness of this light, my soul unavoidably delights. For in this life, we may all be Cains and Lamechs in our own selfish ways. But as long as God is God, there will always be that mark (of Cain) or that ark (of Noah) that will preserve us. And that is because God is gracious yet.