I know I post about grace a lot, but that’s because I need grace a lot. And I need to learn to extend it better to others. Do you? Am I alone in my gracelessness? Maybe all my BFFs (Blessed Friends Forever) have this grace thing down cold and whenever somebody acts like a horse’s patootie to you, you smile and turn the other cheek with sincere godly compassion and generosity of spirit oozing from your pores.
Not me. I just want to blowtorch her eyebrows off with the scathing retorts burning my tongue.
I am not proud of my lack of maturity and Christlikeness in this area. But I find growth and maturity seem to move at a snail’s pace for me. Graciousness is tough to come by when we’re dealing with ungracious people.
But consider that word, gracious. Our commonly perceived definition is “exhibiting kindness and courtesy.” Exhibiting? Well, any ol’ body can do that. Even I can do that! I can fake courtesy as well as the next Southern Steel Magnolia. We’re trained in good manners from pups. We may not feel gracious but we pretend because it’s the polite thing to do. (And if we don’t, our mamas will snatch us cockeyed.)
But is this sickly sweet deceit Papa God’s intention for us in growing in grace? Is there motivation to be gracious that goes deeper than simply behaving respectably? Yep, there is.
But we must add “godly” and “compassionate” and “generosity of spirit’ to the portrait of true graciousness (Webster does!). These spiritual attributes bring us to the root of graciousness, which is, of course, grace. God’s grace has set us free (Romans 6:15 NLT).
Grace, as in Papa God’s grace toward us that while we were yet sinners He sent Christ, His one and only Son, the only perfect, sinless person who ever lived, to die in our place (Romans 5:8).
Grace, as in His amazing grace that sets us free from the fear of condemnation because we, too, like our offenders, mess up sometimes (Romans 6:15).
I believe that once we can understand and embrace the magnitude and breadth of His divine grace, our inner nature genuinely becomes more reflective of the nature of Papa God within us. It’s because of His grace toward us that we can extend grace to others. Real grace, not a cheap faux grace for the sake of good manners.
So blowtorching eyebrows isn’t really a good idea (although I daydream about it sometimes). Papa God had a much better plan: grace.
I’d love to hear from you, dear BFF, about your journey toward grace! (Comment below)
Hi Debora,
I have a really bad anger issue…I have to struggle against my flesh to extend grace to others. However, I am learning to see others the way God sees them. I am trying to realize that if God has grace for me, I need to have grace for other people. Everyone has issues, a history of baggage, so I need to be more patient and understanding. God is helping me to not take things so personal or to be offended. Father God is teaching me to place myself in someone else’s shoes. But it is so much more easier said than done although I am very grateful for the challenge to demonstrate God’s love for others especially because I needed it when I was in the world and buried in sin.
You are so right, Julie – I think it helps me also to remember that everyone has issues and baggage so we do need to be more patient and understanding. Hard to do in the moment though, isn’t it? Pausing right now to pray for you, sister. Thanks for taking the time to comment.