Lately, it seems I am spending a lot of time thinking about GRACE. It's such a common word that perhaps we don't often stop to fully examine its meaning. (neither will attempt to fully define it in this post, so don't worry...) For now, let me just point out that all of us are sinners, both by nature and by nurture, and that we need our sins to be removed/forgiven in order to have relationship with the holy God.
In Ephesians 2:8, we learn that salvation comes "by grace through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast." In other words, what we couldn't do on our own, Jesus did for us by his death & resurrection. Here's the key: GRACE cannot be earned. It is a GIFT. I'm not worthy of it, I don't deserve it, and I can't work for it.
The problem, however, is that although we all want to RECEIVE grace, we often have a hard time GIVING grace to others. Especially those who have hurt us. Those who have failed us. Those who are different from us. We just have a hard time loving them unconditionally, accepting them as they are, and forgiving them when they fall.
Recently, I read a book by Jerry Cook that made these 3 simple, but powerful, statements. Together, they sum up what GRACE is all about, particularly the grace we are called to extend to others:
LOVE is not license.
ACCEPTANCE is not agreement.
FORGIVENESS is not compromise.
Once we can get past the fears of "lowering our standards" or "compromising our beliefs," we'll realize that God's GRACE is bigger than our small ideas about righteousness. This world is a mess. People are broken. What they need is NOT religion -- they need Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's good news for me, so it should apply to my neighbor as well, right? So why would we ask others to "straighten up" BEFORE we will love and accept them?
They don't need a lecture. They need God's GRACE...and He wants you to give it.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
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