Thinking on Grace

Last time, I posted on what Jude was telling his letter receivers in vs 4 about abusing the grace given to them by God, by thinking it was a "get out of jail free" card to do whatever they pleased.  Jude goes on to warn them about what has happened to others in the past with these very same thoughts.  People like Sodom and Gomorrah, fallen angels, and the unfaithful of Israel.  Not good things.

So it got me to thinking on grace.  Definitely something not to be taken for granted and there are so many ways that we all do it.  Sure, we might not be Sodom and Gomorrah, or in prison, or thieves, or fill in this blank with a terrible sin, but we all sin.  We all require grace and we all take it for granted. 

Perhaps, personally, we don't do anything quite as 'bad' as what Jude is addressing, but we do it nonetheless.  For example, speeding.  God asks us all to follow the laws set by our government and the speed limit is one of those laws.  However, most of us break it on a daily basis and don't think of it as any big deal, but it is truly sin.  How often to I take His grace for granted when I am driving?  Way too much, and this is just one small example.  Thankfully, I can confess my sins, and God who is faithful and just will forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  But if I do not identify it as sin and keep on doing it, I am no better than those Jude is addressing.

On the flip side, we often discredit God's grace by not extending it to others and ourselves in a manner worthy of Christ.  This blog from Jen Hatmaker says it much more eloquently than I ever could, so I highly recommend checking it out.  Here are a few snippets just to share:

"More grace.

This just might heal the world, mend relationships, sooth our inner turmoil. It could grease the machine of humanity and keep it running rather than grinding to a halt, stalled out for lack of mercy. It reminds us we are brothers and sisters, not demigods over one another. It is the way Jesus came, and it is precisely what saved our souls."

"We will show grace to ourselves, because how dare we rob our transformed hearts of the mercy Jesus won for us already."

My friends, we need to honor Christ and the sacrifice He made to give us this grace by extending it to ourselves and others more freely.  We are such critics and grumps sometimes it is depressing.  He knew we would continue to screw up and need Him all the time.  It is why He reminded us in 2 Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

So use His amazing grace but don't abuse it.  Don't make grace a tool to fit your life when it suits you and ignored when you are having a bad day.  It is a gift from God (For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.  Eph 2:8).  It is not to be exploited when you want a free ticket and it isn't to be ignored when we really need it ourselves or to extend it to others.

Grace, if used in the way Christ intended, is a fabulous gift to give and receive.