Grace.
It sure is a word we use a lot.
“That dancer is graceful.”
“Her name is Grace.”
“God is gracious.”
“Jesus brought us grace.”
How often do we actually use grace though? When is the last time you actually thought about what it is? When is the last time you actually accepted God’s grace? When is the last time you actually used it?
Webster gives the following definitions:
- Unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification
- Approval, or Favor
- A charming or attractive trait or characteristic
One definition of grace that we as Christians use a lot is “getting what we don’t deserve.” I rather like that. It is the idea that God, out of unconditional and undeserved love, gave us the thing or the things that we absolutely should never have received. That is why it is so hard for us to actually accept grace. The truth found in Romans 3:23 (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”) is naturally felt in our bodies. It is woven into our DNA and stitched on our bones. We know us, and that means we know how truly undeserving of this grace we are.
God knew it, too. It was no secret to Him how undeserving we were and are. Long before the book of Romans, He reminded His children how unrepentant, unloving, stubborn, rebellious, sinful, and evil they were. He had a perfectly good idea just how undeserved grace would be. Yet He sent Jesus anyways. Jesus still came, still cared, still walked, still healed, still died, still suffered, still rose again. Jesus knew but did it anyways.
God gave us grace. In that grace came forgiveness, redemption, new life, His very own Spirit. When we confess, repent, and are baptized, we welcome that grace into our lives. But it is not a one-time event. Grace is continual. As long as we breathe, God will grant us grace and pour it upon us. But we have to accept it. Titus 2:11 and 12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.” Grace shapes us constantly and teaches us and helps us live, but only if we let it.
I’ll speak for myself. I tend to be really hard on myself and beat myself up. When I sin or stumble, I will yell at me for a while until I feel really bad about it. Even after I “forgive” myself for that sin, I keep bringing it back up. When I go through a difficult season, I blame myself or my sin. When I feel awful, I tell myself that is exactly what I deserve because I am awful. Is that really what God does to us in grace? Is that truly living in grace?
God has already given us grace and gives it to us all the time. But I think its about time that we give ourselves a little bit too.
It is like this: A man spent all day looking in his mirror. He constantly fretted about his appearance and devoted all of his time to his reflection. He stared 24/7 at his imperfections: His weak jaw, weird ears, dull eyes, bad hair. He died of rabies.
If he had simply taken a step back and looked away from his mirror, he would have seen that in his bathroom wall lived a bunch of rats. He was so focused on himself that he lost sight of what surrounded him.
When we focus too much on our sins, struggles, failures, etc. the same thing happens to us. Our vision is completely blocked and restricted to one tiny area of our lives. We hate ourselves, beat ourselves up, and make it so we cannot grow or mature. If we would simply take a step back, we could see the bigger picture. If we have grace on ourselves, cut ourselves some slack, take it a little easier, then we can finally open our eyes and see God! We can see His love, His help, His compassion, and His will. Don’t lose sight of the amazing God that surrounds you!
When is the last time you actually accepted God’s grace? When is the last time you gave yourself some of that grace?
Ease up, bro and sis, and don’t die of rabies!
