Gracegiving
Scripture to Ponder:
Romans 5:1-11
The prayer of Thanksgiving was said and plates were passed around. I made a beeline across the kitchen to my grandma's dressing, knowing it's the first to go and there's rarely leftovers. Although, secretly, she has made me a separate pan every Thanksgiving that she quietly sneaks to me when I leave because it's my favorite. As we sat eating, listening to the rising chatter of cousins catching up, I looked over to see the youngest boy dunking his turkey in his drink. Having already sampled my plate, his technique was pure brilliance in my opinion. His mom noticed the strange turkey condiment and gave him a quizzacle, questioning glance. “What mom? It's so dry I can’t get it to go down unless I dip it in pop!!!”
As I sat thinking about families gathering for a meal during the holidays, I thought how often grace needs extended. So many differences coming together for one purpose is a recipe for the need for grace. There are so many beautiful parallels between our natural families and the family of Christ. Family gives identity, a place to grow, and a community of support, but grace is required in both the family we are born into and the one we are called into.
We often choose to see others through the eyes of self, yet Christ died for us while we were still chained in our sin. The gift of God's grace has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He stepped in and took our place. He reconciled us to the Father when we were at our worst. Oh, what selfless love, but we look at our sisters often through the eyes of self, still seeing the sin and not choosing to see through the eyes of the Savior. He stepped in. Will we step in for our sisters? Will we see past the sin and see through the eyes of someone who has themselves been given the abundant gift of amazing grace? May we allow ourselves to pause and reflect deeply on what the Father truly did for us and recognize that he did that for us while we were still drowning in the weight of our sins. He still stepped in. Verse 7 says one would hardly die for a good person yet he died for us at our worst. We are the ones he stepped in for, and yet so many times we are slow to offer grace that we have been so freely given. May we reflect on what Christ has done for us and let that truth reflect in how we treat others.
He went to the cross so we could be at peace and reconciled to the Father. Are we at peace and reconciled to our sisters? Have we at least done our part and tried to see them through grace? What separates us? It's simple, yet we easily get distracted by things of self. We blame it on their actions, the lack of action, the ways they've hurt us, words spoke, our assumptions and even misunderstandings. We allow things to build and separate that if we would step back and gain perspective we would see what truly separates. Sin. Every argument and hindrance has a root of sin that grows if allowed. That sister that you struggle with- has pride taken place in your heart? Has misunderstandings left a relationship hindered? Have you felt justified in your actions or reactions? When in truth we should humble our hearts and address the root of sin with a heart of repentance and lead with grace.
We all fall short, sis. We all stumble. We all put our foot in our mouth or dip our turkey just to get it down. We all misunderstand or allow our own assumptions to create barriers in relationships that grieve the heart of the Father. Sin enters and instead of fighting the sin we fight the sister. May we open our eyes and our hearts so that we fight against the real threat. We all need to be extended grace and to extend grace in this family. Will you allow him to search your heart and be reconciled to him first and then your sisters? Will you make the effort out of renewed awareness and see past the behaviors where sin separates and extend grace as Christ has so lovingly done for you?
This life is too hard to walk it alone. We need our sisters to walk alongside us. While we don't like how it can feel to be corrected, may we choose to view it as a blessing if we have a sister that will walk with us in love and help us to see where we need to grow in our spiritual walk. Families reflect a deeper truth that we were created for relationship with the Father and one another. We don't earn our seat at the table, Sis, it's all because of grace.
May we extend grace to sustain our sisters just as Christ does for us and may we love our sisters well, so they may see the Father himself.
Questions to Ponder:
1) What do I truly understand of grace?
2) Am I slow to offer grace to those in my life who are in my inner circle? What about to strangers?
3) Does my grace alter based on the behaviors and actions of others?
