Grace Upon Grace | Faith Testimony

A personal faith testimony reflecting on trust in God, spiritual growth, life lessons, and walking faithfully through every season. Glory to God all ways, always.

LIFE & STORIES

9/19/20263 min read

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” — John 1:16

I recently returned from America, where I experienced restaurant service like no other. If I’m completely honest, the waiters be doing a bit too much over there 😂. But after watching the way my family who live there responded to it, I realised it was completely normal.

One thing that surprised me was the bottomless drinks. At the first restaurant, I ordered a Coke Zero. Before I could even finish my glass, another one appeared on the table. I hadn't asked for it, I wasn't even finished with the first one, but there it was — full again. They were really working for their tips lol.

At another restaurant, I made the mistake of ordering some fancy virgin piña-colada-tasting drink. I have completely forgotten what it was called, but with the amount of refills I drank, I'm pretty sure I consumed about 3,000 calories by the time we left.

Somewhere between those never-ending refills and my questionable decisions, there was an image that stayed with me: every time the glass emptied, it was filled again.

And it made me think about grace.

What Alofa Tunoa Means to Me

For the longest time, I thought Alofa Tunoa simply meant true love. I don't actually know when or why I decided that, but somewhere along the way it became solidified in my mind.

Having grown a tiny bit wiser, I now understand its meaning reaches much further. Alofa speaks of love, grace, compassion and mercy, while tunoa carries the sense of something freely given — without condition, without needing to be earned.

Alofa Tunoa. Love that does not wait for you to deserve it. Grace that cannot be earned. A blessing freely given.

Suddenly, the name meant much more to me.

Grace Upon Grace

John writes, “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

I love those last three words. Not grace once. Not one carefully measured portion we're supposed to make last. Grace upon grace.

We receive grace when we come to Christ, but we don't graduate from needing it. We need grace when we're doing well and when we've failed spectacularly; when our faith feels strong and when we're barely holding on. Every day we remain dependent upon the grace of God.

And John tells us where it comes from: “from His fullness.” The source isn't us. It flows from the fullness of Christ.

Maybe that's why those bottomless drinks stuck with me. The glass would get lower and before I knew it, someone had filled it again. Just when you think it's run out, a fresh glass appears.

God's grace is infinitely greater than a restaurant refill, but the image reminds me of something I forget far too easily: God is not running low on grace.

His grace is immeasurable, endless and completely undeserved. If salvation were something we could achieve by being good enough, religious enough or disciplined enough, eventually we could point at ourselves and say, Look what I did. But the Gospel leaves us with nothing to boast about except Christ.

We have all fallen short, yet instead of receiving what we deserve, through Christ we receive forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation and life.

Grace.

Still Pouring

Sometimes I wonder how many times God can possibly forgive the same weakness. How many times can I fall? How many times can I wander? How many times can I come back?

Perhaps that's the wrong question.

Grace was never measured by how deserving I was. It has always been measured by who He is.

The same Christ who met me yesterday is there today. The same grace that carried me then is carrying me now. And tomorrow, there will be grace there too.

That doesn't mean grace is permission to live however we please. Grace changes us. We don't obey so that God might finally love us; we learn to obey because in Christ, we have already been loved beyond anything we could earn.

That is Alofa Tunoa.

From His fullness, we have all received. Again and again. Grace upon grace.

Carry the Reminder

Grace Upon Grace. inspired GEN. 002 of the Alofa Tunoa Genesis Collection — a quiet reminder of the grace we continually receive through Christ.

SHOP GEN. 002 — GRACE UPON GRACE.

Alofa Tunoa shares budget-friendly recipes, family meals, one-pan dinners, and Pacific Island inspired food rooted in Samoan culture and faith-filled home cooking.