Grace means receiving something good you have not earned. It is a gift, not wages. In the Bible, grace is first of all about how God meets people.
God takes the first step
Paul writes that God showed his love for us in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). God does not wait until we have put things in order. He comes to meet us.
Not something we earn
Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace, through faith, and that it is not from ourselves, but a gift of God. That means no one can boast of having earned God, and no one is too far away.
Grace in a story
Jesus tells of a son who takes his inheritance and squanders it. When he comes home, his father is waiting on the road and runs to meet him (Luke 15:11–32). It is a picture of grace: an embrace, not an account.
Grace changes us
Grace is not a licence to do whatever we like. Someone who has been forgiven often becomes more generous and patient themselves. Grace is both something we receive and something we pass on.