If someone asked me what makes Christianity unique, I would say grace. No other religion puts an emphasis on grace over judgement or works – on love instead of fear. Scripture is filled with stories of times when God revealed grace to a world hungry for love. Grace flows from love. It makes absolutely no sense outside of the framework of sacrificial love.
Grace is scandalous. It compels people to forgive the seemingly unforgivable and to love the unlovable without condition. Grace transforms both those who give and those who receive. Within the heart of every man who has seen grace, a seed is planted. A yearning stirs the soul whispering that there is more – more grace, more forgiveness, more freedom, more love.
Forgiveness is the greatest act of grace. The ability to forgive is unique. It separates us from being just a beast and points to the fact that we are indeed made in the image of God who is the author of grace. And yet, forgiveness is impossible in our humanity because grace is unnatural. It takes an outside force greater than ourselves to overcome our natural tendency towards ungrace.
Power corrupts the working of grace. When Christians gain power, they tend to forget the true nature of grace. This usually occurs because they fear to lose the control that they have gained. The temptation creeps in to govern the outward actions of others in order to maintain power and not lose ground that has been painstakingly won. Yet, in focusing only on the outward, we fail to remember that it is grace that truly changes lives – that it is grace that has the power to radically change the entire world. This has been the struggle of the church throughout history.
Jesus lived grace. Even the outcasts of society felt that they could approach Him. Encounters with the lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes and sick fill the gospels. Then in the most scandalous moment of grace ever recorded, Christ gave His very life for the sake of love. In the ultimate act of forgiveness, God chose to accept the sacrifice of His Son as sufficient payment for the debts of everyone and offer a clean slate to all.
I want to be known as someone who shows grace to all – even myself. Someone who loves even when it hurts and isn’t afraid of forgiveness no matter the cost. I know that in the end, the cost of ungrace is far greater because it separates me from God whereas forgiveness allows God to work through me, thus drawing me into closer communion with Him. What sweet fellowship comes from grace! Not only am I reconciled with my brethren, but I gain greater intimacy with my Lord.
I have counted the cost of grace. While the payment may be difficult and made at times in great hesitancy, yet I am confident that the end result is a treasure proved to be of more worth than gold. So I will press on into greater levels of grace despite its totally unnatural nature. Each moment that I choose grace reminds me and others that I do not belong to this world but to a heavenly Kingdom that enables its citizens to live according to the laws of grace and love instead of being ruled by the passions of the flesh. Each time I choose forgiveness, I am a living testimony of the transforming power of grace. In my own power, grace is unnatural, but through the power of God it becomes the way I live.
