Mulholland and the Grace of God

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God's grace for us is unending and all we have to do is take it.

Program Transcript

If you’ve ever seen a picture of Los Angeles before 1913, then you know just how dry this city really is. It was a desert, a place where nothing really grew. And until William Mulholland came along, that’s all it was ever going to be. But on the morning of November 5, 1913, something happened that changed Los Angeles forever.

By eleven o’clock, 40,000 people had gathered at the base of the newly finished Los Angeles Aqueduct. They had journeyed almost two hours along dusty roads to witness a miracle. A marching band played, a cannon fired, and finally the floodgates opened, unleashing a torrent of crystal clear water down the channel built into the hillside. As it flowed past the crowd, Mulholland shouted – “There it is! Take it!”

But for me, that same phrase so perfectly represents how I feel about the grace and mercy of our Triune God. You see, for the longest time I lived under a very rigid code of legalism. I tried to hit all the right marks, make sure I ate the right food and showed up to the right holidays. But then, my eyes were opened to the miracle of grace.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no on can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

You see – God’s grace is readily available to us. Through Jesus, we have been brought back into communion with God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The floodgates are open! God’s mercy is overwhelming in the best possible way! And just like Mulholland said, “There it is! Take it!” – that’s the exact way God’s grace is made available to us. It’s always new, always flowing – a new source of life that changes us from the ground up forever. All we need to do is turn around and take it!

I know we’ve had a few draughts over the years here in Los Angeles, but I am so thankful that in Christ, God’s mercy is made new every day. There it is. All we need to do is take it!

I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of LIFE. 

Program Transcript

If you’ve ever seen a picture of Los Angeles before 1913, then you know just how dry this city really is. It was a desert, a place where nothing really grew. And until William Mulholland came along, that’s all it was ever going to be. But on the morning of November 5, 1913, something happened that changed Los Angeles forever.

By eleven o’clock, 40,000 people had gathered at the base of the newly finished Los Angeles Aqueduct. They had journeyed almost two hours along dusty roads to witness a miracle. A marching band played, a cannon fired, and finally the floodgates opened, unleashing a torrent of crystal clear water down the channel built into the hillside. As it flowed past the crowd, Mulholland shouted – “There it is! Take it!”

But for me, that same phrase so perfectly represents how I feel about the grace and mercy of our Triune God. You see, for the longest time I lived under a very rigid code of legalism. I tried to hit all the right marks, make sure I ate the right food and showed up to the right holidays. But then, my eyes were opened to the miracle of grace.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no on can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

You see – God’s grace is readily available to us. Through Jesus, we have been brought back into communion with God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The floodgates are open! God’s mercy is overwhelming in the best possible way! And just like Mulholland said, “There it is! Take it!” – that’s the exact way God’s grace is made available to us. It’s always new, always flowing – a new source of life that changes us from the ground up forever. All we need to do is turn around and take it!

I know we’ve had a few draughts over the years here in Los Angeles, but I am so thankful that in Christ, God’s mercy is made new every day. There it is. All we need to do is take it!

I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of LIFE. 

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