What is grace, really? After a discussion in small group, I started
thinking about what grace really means.
Is there a difference between grace given to us by God and grace that we
show to one another? What does it look
like to give too much grace, or not enough?
I can I improve on the grace I show to others?
First, God’s grace is generally accepted to
be unmerited and undeserved favor, kindness, forgiveness and acceptance. To some, grace is at the center of their
faith and relationship with the Lord. I even
wear a bracelet with the inscription “Saved by grace through faith on 5/29/2011
Ephesians 2:8”. But, what does the gift
of God’s grace really mean? Is it a gift
or a given? For some, it’s a get out of
jail free card. A free pass of
sorts. They can sin, mess up, wrong God
and others and EXPECT God to extend grace to them and their actions. Then, they repeat the same sins and the cycle
continues. To others, it’s viewed as the
greatest gift that God could give them.
After all, isn’t Jesus grace in the flesh? Wasn’t His enormous act of sacrifice the
greatest example of grace that we can point to in history?
What is grace between those of us non-celestial
beings then? If we’re striving to be
like Jesus, shouldn’t we show grace too?
What does that look like? How
should it be done? Can we give too much
grace? Someone could take advantage of
that. They could treat us poorly, over
and over, knowing we will continue to forgive.
We may grow accustom to turning a blind eye to clear problems. What about the opposite? Not enough grace can be just as harmful. The person who doesn’t provide enough grace
can become judgmental, arrogant, and infallible in their own eyes.
What if there was and should be a happy
medium? When Jesus met a prostitute or
thief who asked for forgiveness, did he give it freely without pointing out what
they did and how it was wrong? No. What he did do was call attention to their wrong
doings, forgave them and extended grace with the expectation that they would not
repeat the same sin knowingly. He didn’t
walk around passing out free passes to sin. So, shouldn’t we do the same? If a friend of mine is sinning, no matter how
small or large, am I showing grace or by not calling them out when they ask for
my opinion or when they affect me personally?
Am I doing any favors to my friend by just letting it go? No, I don’t think so. At the same time, being harsh and not
accepting an apology or the believing notion that the foul was intentional
despite being told differently is also wrong.
That is not what Jesus would do either.
So, after some reflection and prayer, I
know where I am weakest in regards to grace.
I know the area’s that I need to improve on because I certainly lean
towards the harsher side of grace. I
could give it more freely and push my own selfish emotions to the side for the greater
good. As I learn and grow, I hope that
others extend that same gift of grace to me, knowing that I am far from perfect
but understanding that I am a work in progress.
How are you doing with grace?
