10.19.2008

Grace

Grace: the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God
favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity

I need a lot of grace. I suck at accepting it, and I often suck at extending it. I was sitting in church this morning during worship, singing Come Thou Fount, and I was bowled over by grace. I mean, I get it. I get what grace is in a sense, I get the definition I found on dictionary.com. But sometimes, sometimes I am absolutely in awe of grace.
Freely given
unmerited
Love of God

Is anyone offering you grace that you're refusing to accept? Is there someone you're refusing to offer grace to?
Why?
At the end of the day, what is most important, what beats your heart, what breaks it, what heals it?
Is being right better then being loving?

What does it look like to freely give grace? What could you do tomorrow to extend grace to someone that seems undeserving of grace?
Hold a door open
say thank you and mean it
smile at a stranger (or a loved one if it's been awhile)
let someone in during your drive to or from work (without flipping them off and cursing)

Just extend grace. Be kind. Recklessly show unmerited love.
Make it a point, that when people are done talking to you, they pause for a moment to wonder what it is about you that helps them feel a little better about themselves, their life.
Grant someone immunity in your life. You know that person, the one that you are holding a grudge against, that you are refusing to cut any slack. Cut them some slack, give them a break. There will always be time to fight it out, but you never know how much longer you have to show someone they are loved.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"recklessly show unmerited love"

That's a keeper.

Etepay said...

I hope someday to have a moment of understanding like you did.