If there is one thing that I have been tested in, over the years; it has got to be grace.
Grace is one of those “Christianese” words that is often just used by Christians to express forgiveness; but grace is so much more than just that.
Grace can be quite a complex concept because grace is not only forgiveness, grace is also equipping and empowering. Grace is the art of creating space to grow!
Grace is first extended to us by God, through Jesus sacrifice on the cross. The ultimate act of forgiveness for every time we have, and are still going to miss the mark of God’s standard of living. Receiving grace, means that we accept this generous gift of freedom from guilt and we choose to extend the same generous gift to those around us.
Extending grace is possible if we have a genuine revelation of the generosity of Jesus’ forgiveness. Struggling with this kind of grace is often because we have not fully acknowledged how much we are forgiven.
Grace extended is almost always an overflow of grace received.
2 Corinthians 4:15 TPT Yes, all things work for your enrichment so that more of God’s marvelous grace will spread to more and more people, resulting in an even greater increase of praise to God, bringing him even more glory!
Grace is not for our glory, grace [both forgiveness and equipping] are to glorify God.
When we recognize that we are not enough on our own, and that we desperately need God’s grace to sustain us every day. Realizing that if all we had was God’s grace that, that would be more than enough. That is when we understand the urgency of extending grace to others.
Grace should not be limited to the ones we love, but rather, to every person we meet.
We live in a world where standards are so high and where people are likely to be apprehensive, for the fear of doing or saying something that is offensive to others.
But we don’t need to live this way, we don’t need to be defined by failure, instead let’s shift our perspective from looking at the world through eyes of criticism and see the world through eyes of grace.
Grace that gives second chances - grace that is un-offendable because we are forgiven, grace that teaches more than it condemns, grace that notices the little instead of the lack, grace that simply says “it’s okay, let’s get it right next time” – imagine a world defined by this grace!
Grace starts with us, the first person we need to extend grace to is ourselves – we accept God’s grace personally, and consistently work at being gracious towards ourselves – giving ourselves space to grow and to improve, and to take each day as a new opportunity to do better, to make better choices, and to extend more grace to others.
Imagine a world where grace is freely given, no questions asked, a world with less competing and comparison, a world willing to learn, forgive, equip and ultimately, glorify God!
Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
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