God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense
"What is grace? Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable. The cliché definition of grace is “unconditional love.” It is a true cliché; for it is a good description of the thing…Let’s go a little further, though.
Grace is a love that has nothing to do with you, the beloved. It has everything and only to do with the lover. Grace is irrational in the sense that it has nothing to do with weights and measures. It has nothing to do with my intrinsic qualities or so-called “gifts” (whatever they may be). It reflects a decision on the part of the giver (the one who loves) in relation to the receiver (the one who is loved) that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold…Grace is one-way love.
The one-way love of grace is the essence of any lasting transformation that takes place in human experience. You can find this out for yourself by taking a simple inventory of your own happiness, or the moments of happiness you have had. They have almost always had to do with some incident of love or belovedness that has come to you from someone outside yourself when you were down. You felt ugly or sinking in confidence and somebody complimented you, or helped you, or spoke a kind word to you. You were at the end of your rope and someone showed a little sympathy."
– Paul Zahl in "Grace in Practice"
This month, I’ve learned what true grace is – unmerited favor. Grace is a gift; you don’t have to work for it. Grace freely flows from Poppa even when I don’t deserve it. In seeking forgiveness through repentance, he showers me with His grace. He does it because He loves me, not because He has to. Much of this I’ve known for years, but I’ve never embraced it as reality.
Conviction. I’m too hard on myself. I haven’t ever allowed myself to “truly” experience grace because I’m too caught up in the guilt and fear of failing or being rejected. I’m too hard on other people because I expect them to measure up to a standard I can’t even meet myself.
In Psalm 103:12, David writes, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”. God forgives and He forgets. If I truly am a follower of God, I must model his forgiveness. When I forgive someone, I must also forget. And in that forgiveness, freely offer grace to the other person. Because if Poppa is offering it freely to me, who am I to withhold grace from those around me?
Truth. From this day forward, I’m walking a more grace-filled life. Fully receiving the beautiful gift of grace and extending it to those around me.
Why? Because I desire to be more selfless and less selfish. I desire to see people in a loving light and care for their deepest needs. I desire to believe the best in people's intentions and always see them as brothers and sisters. I desire for my mind to be more like Christ's – perhaps this is the first step.
How am I practicing a more grace-filled life?
By living in a community like this.
Lots of grace going on here ;]
Photo Cred: Kip Deaton
