Article December 16, 1985 Issue

What a gift: God's grace

RUTH H. POYSER

Genesis tells of a traveler who stopped at a well outside a city in Mesopotamia. He had come a long distance, and he and his camels were thirsty. Women from the city had come to draw water for their parents and families—among them, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel.

When she had filled her pitcher, the stranger said to her, "Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher." She wasn't annoyed by this intrusion into her domestic duties, and she didn't reply impatiently or depart in haste, ignoring the traveler's request. She expressed gracious compassion. Her reply was, "Drink, my lord." When he had done so, she added, "I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking."^{Gen. 24:17–19.} In her beautiful graciousness, this young woman cared not only for the stranger but for his camels as well. How eloquently the story points to divine grace, the loving beneficence and generosity of God for His creation. Of our expression of this God-quality Mrs. Eddy says in the Christian Science textbook, "What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds."^{Science and Health, p. 4.}

This growth is vital because spiritual grace is our aid in effecting our salvation. Grace is our heavenly Father's freely given redeeming love. Paul declares, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."^{Eph. 2:8.} This spontaneous giving is the tender, merciful expression of our heavenly Father's love for all mankind. Love is universal and infinite and always evidenced in God's reflection.