“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” —Titus 2:11–12 (ESV)
We must never see the Grace of God as a quiet passerby as our lives go rushing by – far from it. Rather we must strive to view it for what it is – the active presence of God Himself—appearing, rescuing, and reforming. When Paul wrote the above sentence to Titus, notice how he presents God’s grace. He does not make it as if it is a soft pillow meant to comfort us and lull us to sleep, but as a teacher. It appears and it trains.
To live in grace is to be continually formed by the cross-shaped love of God. Through this grace, God teaches us to say “no” to what is lesser and “yes” to what is lasting. It cultivates a life of restraint in a culture of indulgence, a life of integrity in a world that rewards duplicity. In other words, grace doesn’t just pardon—it molds us into a specific pattern, and that of Jesus.

Our formation from worldliness to Christlikeness is a lifelong endeavor. The world beckons us to be a part of it, to be conformed, to just “be like everyone else.” But Jesus calls us to be transformed into His image. To not travel down the road that the world has paved to destruction, but to walk up the road with Him that leads to life. Grace does not merely give us a second chance; it gives us a new heart. It awakens a hunger for holiness, and a thirst for righteousness where once there was only resignation. It reshapes our ambitions and renews our affections to the will of God, to which we begin to joyfully submit.
And this is no future hope deferred. Paul anchors it in the present age. In the here and now, the Lord is “rolling up His sleeves.” Grace works in our speech, our decisions, our treatment of neighbors and strangers alike. To live in grace is to wear the garments of the redeemed: humility, patience, faith, and love—so as not to signal virtue, but as visible reminders of the One who clothed us in His mercy.
So let us welcome the grace of God daily—not just as our comfort, but as our guide through this world and into the next, from the here and now to the hereafter. Let it rearrange our desires, season our speech, and carry us into lives that reflect the Savior who appeared not to condemn the world, but to save it.