Some Thoughts On Grace....

I was challenged yet again to give grace. Not demanded of, but challenged. The challenge came from a man I respect, whom I see as my spiritual dad. He's challenged me on this before, when he heard my tone regarding someone else.

This will cost me. And yet what will I pay that I did not receive myself, a thousand times over? So I began to think through what I've learned over the past few years regarding grace. This is not exhaustive, nor well written or thought out.... just my thoughts.

Grace can never be demanded, yet it demands to be freely given.

Grace is not "fluffy, feel good emotion" one extends to another. It comes with death - the death of the one who extends it. For us, not literal death, but a death to self. That's why demanded grace without grace given can be so offensive - it's a calling for another's death, without one's own willingness to die.

Extending grace is one of the most strength filled acts, requiring one's death for the benefit of another - it is the ultimate demonstration of strength under control (a definition of gentleness).

To extend grace gracefully, it requires a humility that had to previously exist, born from the fire of adversity.

Grace, by definition, is not earned. It is freely given. True grace does not require another to earn my acts of grace. I need to think about that.

Grace, when extended under the submission of the Spirit, is so, so beautiful. On the human level it probably heals more in the one who extends it, than in the one who receives it. There is joy, intimacy with Jesus, and peace, when one by faith, extends grace to one who does not deserve it. We see so much more of our own need of it, and it makes us more in awe of our Grace Filled Savior.

How grateful I am that I am not left to myself. Thank You Abba, for walking out grace through me.