Grace...what exactly does that mean? If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you've heard a lot about grace, but do we really grasp that concept? Will we ever really fully understand this side of heaven? I can't answer that, but God has been dealing with me about grace lately. I thought I was supposed to write about grace a couple of weeks ago, but as it turns out, I was supposed to read about grace rather than write. Here's some of what I've found.
Grace - Amazing grace
God's grace
God's Riches At Christ's Expence
Saved by grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin
I'm sure none of those are new phrases about grace to you. Here's the definition of grace that I found:
(in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings
But still, what does grace really mean? To me, grace is the very essence of God. The Bible tells us that God is love*, and part of love is grace. If we don't love someone, we're not going to be gracious to them, i.e. Treat them with favor, respect, goodwill. The passage below from 1 John 4 really says it all. In order to truly show grace, we must love. We must love because Jesus says that's the greatest command. Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV) In fact, this is said 5 times in Scripture. Loving others, as well as showing grace, is not optional for a Christian. It's commanded. If it weren't for God's grace, we would all be eternally separated from Him, but because He gave His Son for us and showed us grace so that we could receive the free gift of eternal life, we are to now show that grace to others. I don't know about you, but I'm not capable in myself of showing grace, love, and mercy to others. In fact, the gift of mercy is one of the lowest scores I consistently get on a spiritual gifts test. But that doesn't mean that I should excuse myself from loving others because "it's not my gift." On the contrary, I have to work harder at being aware of that one. We have all of the gifts available to us when we need them so I can't use that as an excuse to want to judge someone more harshly. After all, I'm not called to be the judge. I'm called to show love and grace, as are we all.
So what are we to do with this now that we know? Well, we are to show grace, love, and mercy to those who need it the most. Most likely your loved one who is dealing with SSA has not been shown any of these things by some people in their lives. I can see with my son that people have treated him harshly when it wasn't necessary as he was growing up, that he's not always been viewed through the eyes of love and grace, and that he was dealt with unfairly at times. I know what you're thinking, "well who hasn't?" That's correct. Who hasn't? But we Christians shouldn't be the ones to treat others in a less than gracious manner. When we know a child is sensitive or deals with SSA, the way to "straighten them out" is not to toughen them up. It's to be loving and gracious. How do we want to be treated in our sensitive areas? I believe we all want to be treated with love and grace. Isn't this how God treats us? God has given is His unconditional love (agape) and His grace (unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor and kindness). To be a Christian is to be Christ-like. After all, the Bible tells us that we were created in the image of God. [So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)]. Part of that entails being capable of grace and love. Jesus is our example. He only treated others in this manner. Look at how he treated those who society shunned in His day, the woman at the well, those with leprosy, the hated of the day, the tax collectors, the lowly fishermen, the thief on the cross beside Him, etc. Jesus showed grace. He gave them acceptance when no one else did. He never condoned their sin or made them feel guilty. He loved them.
This is our task: to give undeserved, unmerited, unearned favor and acceptance to our loved ones and to love them unconditionally. One of the popular questions some time ago was "what would Jesus do?" Well, what WOULD Jesus do? I believe the answer is the first sentence of this paragraph. What are we to do? The same.
In light of all this, God's grace is truly amazing!
If we are to err, err on the side of grace always.
*Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!
And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world
Grace - Amazing grace
God's grace
God's Riches At Christ's Expence
Saved by grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin
I'm sure none of those are new phrases about grace to you. Here's the definition of grace that I found:
(in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings
- the condition or fact of being favored by someone.synonyms:favor, approval, acceptance, esteem, regard, respect; goodwill.
- antonyms: disfavor
But still, what does grace really mean? To me, grace is the very essence of God. The Bible tells us that God is love*, and part of love is grace. If we don't love someone, we're not going to be gracious to them, i.e. Treat them with favor, respect, goodwill. The passage below from 1 John 4 really says it all. In order to truly show grace, we must love. We must love because Jesus says that's the greatest command. Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV) In fact, this is said 5 times in Scripture. Loving others, as well as showing grace, is not optional for a Christian. It's commanded. If it weren't for God's grace, we would all be eternally separated from Him, but because He gave His Son for us and showed us grace so that we could receive the free gift of eternal life, we are to now show that grace to others. I don't know about you, but I'm not capable in myself of showing grace, love, and mercy to others. In fact, the gift of mercy is one of the lowest scores I consistently get on a spiritual gifts test. But that doesn't mean that I should excuse myself from loving others because "it's not my gift." On the contrary, I have to work harder at being aware of that one. We have all of the gifts available to us when we need them so I can't use that as an excuse to want to judge someone more harshly. After all, I'm not called to be the judge. I'm called to show love and grace, as are we all.
So what are we to do with this now that we know? Well, we are to show grace, love, and mercy to those who need it the most. Most likely your loved one who is dealing with SSA has not been shown any of these things by some people in their lives. I can see with my son that people have treated him harshly when it wasn't necessary as he was growing up, that he's not always been viewed through the eyes of love and grace, and that he was dealt with unfairly at times. I know what you're thinking, "well who hasn't?" That's correct. Who hasn't? But we Christians shouldn't be the ones to treat others in a less than gracious manner. When we know a child is sensitive or deals with SSA, the way to "straighten them out" is not to toughen them up. It's to be loving and gracious. How do we want to be treated in our sensitive areas? I believe we all want to be treated with love and grace. Isn't this how God treats us? God has given is His unconditional love (agape) and His grace (unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor and kindness). To be a Christian is to be Christ-like. After all, the Bible tells us that we were created in the image of God. [So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)]. Part of that entails being capable of grace and love. Jesus is our example. He only treated others in this manner. Look at how he treated those who society shunned in His day, the woman at the well, those with leprosy, the hated of the day, the tax collectors, the lowly fishermen, the thief on the cross beside Him, etc. Jesus showed grace. He gave them acceptance when no one else did. He never condoned their sin or made them feel guilty. He loved them.
This is our task: to give undeserved, unmerited, unearned favor and acceptance to our loved ones and to love them unconditionally. One of the popular questions some time ago was "what would Jesus do?" Well, what WOULD Jesus do? I believe the answer is the first sentence of this paragraph. What are we to do? The same.
In light of all this, God's grace is truly amazing!
If we are to err, err on the side of grace always.
*Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!
And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world