Give … Grace
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. Eph 4:29(New Revised Standard Version)
I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Ro 12:3
Anyone who has ever had a bill knows what a grace period is. It is the time between when the bill is due and the time when you will be charged a late fee. Grace is extended – you are given time to get your resources together so you can pay what is owed. The kind of grace we often extend to others can sometimes feel more like the grace period of a credit card company than the unmerited grace of God. Grace with the condition of repayment. I will give you a break, but remember, there is a catch. The grace we receive from God is a gift – we haven’t earned his favor, we didn’t deserve to be saved.
The goal is to extend this kind of supernatural grace to others, through our actions, attitudes, and words. But there is catch to this kind of grace, too: It is only by God’s grace that we can extend God’s grace. Without an understanding of what God has done for us, it is impossible to bring life-changing grace to the world.
Father-God, thank you for the graciousness of your gifts. Help me to grasp how deep, how wide, how, long and how great is your loving grace toward me.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. Eph 4:29(New Revised Standard Version)
I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Ro 12:3
Anyone who has ever had a bill knows what a grace period is. It is the time between when the bill is due and the time when you will be charged a late fee. Grace is extended – you are given time to get your resources together so you can pay what is owed. The kind of grace we often extend to others can sometimes feel more like the grace period of a credit card company than the unmerited grace of God. Grace with the condition of repayment. I will give you a break, but remember, there is a catch. The grace we receive from God is a gift – we haven’t earned his favor, we didn’t deserve to be saved.
The goal is to extend this kind of supernatural grace to others, through our actions, attitudes, and words. But there is catch to this kind of grace, too: It is only by God’s grace that we can extend God’s grace. Without an understanding of what God has done for us, it is impossible to bring life-changing grace to the world.
Father-God, thank you for the graciousness of your gifts. Help me to grasp how deep, how wide, how, long and how great is your loving grace toward me.
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Thank goodness His grace is not like ours! :O)
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