To be human is to mess up and make mistakes. It’s easy to fall into a trap of punishing ourselves when this happens, but God’s love shows us we are accepted and free. We hurt one another, whether intentionally or unintentionally through snarky Facebook comments, text messages, email and even in person. Still, God offers us unconditional love and acceptance through grace. We all need grace. Grace simply acknowledges the fact that we all make mistakes, and God continues to offer his grace in spite of our imperfection.
Just three things to share with you about grace!
#1:
Trusting in God’s unconditional love is critical to being able to accept God’s grace. We can build this foundation and stay centered in this love and acceptance when we have a daily devotional practices. When we ground ourselves in the word of God, we remember that, although we have made mistakes in the past, we are forgiven by God and free to live as a new creation every day.
#2:
When we share the same forgiveness with others, that we receive from God, it all comes together! When I sit down with couples to do pre-marital counseling, I encourage them to attend church together on a regular basis. This isn’t because going to church ensures your goodness, in fact, I’ve seen the opposite to be true, as well! Attending church regularly with one another keeps a couple grounded in God’s love. When you feel forgiveness and love from God, it’s easier to offer the same to your spouse. It can actually make you a better husband or wife! Also, we would all prefer to be judged on our intention than our behavior. Think about that a minute. We expect others to judge us on our intention instead of solely on our behavior and yet, by default we judge others on their behavior rather than their intention. What if we all offered one another a little grace by simply considering the intention of others. We all want someone to give us the benefit of the doubt and we must offer this same grace to our friends, family and co-workers!
#3:
And third, we can offer grace to others when we practices kindness. We can commit to intentionally look for opportunities to create moments where others can see that they are loved by God! Outside of sharing kindness or doing something nice for someone, we can offer grace when we choose to be impeccable with our word. This means not speaking out against other people or groups with whom we disagree. This proves to be especially challenging during election season, but there is power in “holding our tongues!”
And now, here’s an opportunity for us to put this in practice! Earlier this week I challenged the staff at St. Luke’s to pick up the phone and call someone to express love and appreciation as a way of showing grace. It could be someone with whom you need reconciliation or it could simply be someone you need to express love toward. Whether you choose to pick up the phone and call someone or send someone a hand written card, God uses us to offer a touch of love and grace to someone in need of this. I like to ask God to guide me in this process and when I follow His direction, so often I hear back from the other person, that this was just what they needed in that moment. God will use you to touch someone who needs a touch of love and grace, just be willing and you will see!
