God’s Grace

It is by God’s love, His mercy, and His grace, that I am brought into God’s family and am now His child. His amazing, forgiving love has been extravagantly tipped into our lives as we come to know Him.

So, if you squeeze me hard, what comes out of me should be God’s grace. When things go wrong, my response should show God’s grace. When my composure is challenged, my cage rattled, what is knocked out of me again should be grace. And if you hurt me, it should be grace that you experience being released from me, even as I feel hurt from what you have done or said.

Then what’s going on that I can be prickly and sharp with those who cross me –with my close family, irritating siblings, with tradespeople, my work colleagues, and those in need? What reaction comes from me when others hurt me, or let me down? Is it anger, resentment, irritation – or is it God’s grace in me that always meets others with love? Maybe I’m not alone – but I’m not very good at this. Quick as a flash, I can so easily come out with an unkind response.

This is what Paul says, in his same letter: ‘Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that’ (Ephesians 5:1-2).

I keep coming back to the Gospels. Just look at how Jesus loves!

Look at His amazing sensitivity to the poor, the needy, the hurting; His total loving commitment to those who were in a bad place emotionally or spiritually; His patience with those who were the abused, the misfits and the miscreants of society. To each one, He came with loving Holy Spirit perception and an absolutely pure, all-embracing, totally accepting, welcoming love.