Amazing Grace!

Amazing Grace! How sweet it sounds but what exactly is amazing grace? What does it look like in my day to day life? It is something that has been an evolving concept in my life. I have to confess, there was a time, in my not so distant past, that grace was something I expected to receive from everyone but had little ability to give. I expected everyone to live up to a standard that I was not able to live up to myself. OUCH! Did I just say that? Yes, I did and I am betting that I am not the only one who has acted that way. Expecting grace but not offering it could be called by another name. Self righteous indignation!

Self righteous is defined as confident of one’s own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.
Indignation is defined as anger or scorn aroused by something felt to be unfair, unworthy, or wrong.

Not offering grace to another person, when I have been extended so much grace in my life, is definitely a mindset of: I am better than you, my opinion and actions count more than yours, and if you don’t do as I say I will be angry.

I don’t know about you but I know I don’t want to live like that. I want to be a women who is able to extend the grace that was so freely given to me by Jesus. He did not look at me, my life, my sin and say,“I am perfect, you are not so I can not forgive you of your sins”. No, he looked at me, a sinner saved by his grace, and said “you are forgiven”. He forgave me knowing full well that I would fall short along my journey. He knows that in my humanity it is impossible for me to be perfect, yet he still loves me unconditionally.

This is the amazing grace that I receive. This is the amazing grace that I want to be able to give to those around me who fall short along their journey to their final destiny.

But how does one do this? Extend this amazing grace when my heart of hearts wants to yell, scream, condemn, complain, slander and  crucify the offending person?

First, I need to remember what I’m told in 2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV)

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”

I am called to live a holy life because of this grace, not because of anything I have done but because of God’s purpose in my life. My purpose is to share the love of Jesus with others, not to condemn them.

Second, I need to remember 2 Corinthians 2:10 (NIV)

“Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake”

I have been forgiven much and therefore I need to forgive others much. When I forgive them I am not necessarily saying I like their actions or behavior but instead, I am extending them grace. A grace I can extend only because it has been so freely extended to me.

To me, grace and forgiveness go hand in hand. When I forgive someone and offer them grace, I am taking my emotions out of the equation and putting Jesus into the equation. Living a life that extends grace, the grace I would like to receive, leads to a life that reflects more of Jesus and less of me.

For me, John 3:30 sums this up:

“He must become greater; I must become less.”

For me to extend this amazing grace, God must increase in my heart and I must become less. As I close I would like to leave you with these two songs:

Forgiveness, by Matthew West

https://youtu.be/FMn0QNdiuGE

and This is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham

http://youtu.be/zPQKj2Zptr0

I used Compel’s Tips for  “Writing Strong Sentences”  to write this blog.