I'm finally getting to my last blog and wrapping up the stories from South Africa! I know it took awhile, but at least I'm gonna finish.
The last of the three main lessons the Lord taught me in South Africa was about the grace that overflows from seeing through others through the eyes of Jesus and freely loving. In my last blog, I wrote about how my annoyance towards the kids at FBCCS from my flesh was replaced by unconditional love for them through the Holy Spirit in me. Because the Lord had so faithfully granted me the Eyes to See, I no longer held frustration and anger towards them, no matter how many times they misbehaved or deliberately disobeyed me. I found myself able to extend grace as I had never extended it before, forgiving as the Lord forgives (Colossians 3:13) and never losing my love for the students. Had He not allowed me to love them so, grace would have been impossible. But from love, grace and forgiveness overflow naturally.
Through all of this, the Lord provided me with an entirely new perspective on how it is that He sees us, His children. In Ephesians 2:4-5, Paul the apostle writes, "4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved." Because God LOVES us, He gives us GRACE through Jesus even though we choose to turn away from Him and disobey His commands over and over again, day after day. That IS the Gospel!! I knew this is my heart in relation to myself and the Lord, but realized last month that I never knew how to truly live it out with others because I had never had situations where forgiveness and grace were so evidently necessary. The only reason that I could give the children continuous grace and love was because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) and showed us grace. What a beautiful picture my Father painted for me by allowing me to see the students the way He sees me and the rest of His children as well.
