I actually love long drives by myself ... a diet coke in the drink holder and an audio book in the CD player! So, yesterday was a fabulous day for me ... all of my favorites for 9 hours ... plus it ended with a three hour Cracker Barrel dinner with a sweet friend! Ahhhhhhh ... nice end to sweet Christmas times.
I finished a book by Richard Paul Evans called Grace which told the story of a young pregnant runaway victim of abuse who lived out the sweetest days of her life in a clubhouse, sheltered by a caring friend named Eric. It didn't have the storybook ending I was hoping for, somewhat of a more realistic end to the cruelties of domestic abuse and violence that plagues our world. But in it, a beautiful picture of grace and love. However, it's a quote in the epilogue that has really had me thinking ... about grace ...
We talk about grace a lot, especially in Christian circles. We seem to recognize it when it is bestowed on us, but what is it, really? And why are we so slow to bestow the grace showed us on others?
I finished a book by Richard Paul Evans called Grace which told the story of a young pregnant runaway victim of abuse who lived out the sweetest days of her life in a clubhouse, sheltered by a caring friend named Eric. It didn't have the storybook ending I was hoping for, somewhat of a more realistic end to the cruelties of domestic abuse and violence that plagues our world. But in it, a beautiful picture of grace and love. However, it's a quote in the epilogue that has really had me thinking ... about grace ...
"Grace is not to forgive but to have never found fault."
- Richard Paul Evans in the epilogue to Grace
We talk about grace a lot, especially in Christian circles. We seem to recognize it when it is bestowed on us, but what is it, really? And why are we so slow to bestow the grace showed us on others?
* God's Riches at Christ's Expense (one of the oldest cliched expresssions)
* Undeserved favor
* What we cannot do for ourselves
* Not getting what we deserve
From Webster's:
* unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
* disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
* a charming or attractive trait or characteristic
From Scripture:
Usually "grace" is the translation of the Greek "charis" found over 150 times in the New Testament, usually in Paul's writings.
Most of us can quote Ephesians 2:8 which says "for by grace we are saved through faith ..."
or Ephesians 4:7, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift."
Being a big fan of the message, I love its rendering of Matthew 11:28 which says,
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
... the unforced rhythms of GRACE ... now that's something I'd like to set about learning this year. Wonder what that would look like. Anyone??
From others:
And you know, when you've experienced grace and you feel like you've been forgiven, you're a lot more forgiving of other people. You're a lot more gracious to others. - Rick Warren
Grace is love that pays a price. - unknown
One of my most poignant lessons in grace came last night over dinner. We were talking about a race we had recently run. Me, being the critic, commented that I wanted to list all the things wrong with that race until I read my friend's grace-filled, kind comments on the website. Her response, I hope has changed my view on people and on grace and on criticizing. She said she had learned in previous ventures the power that others' criticism had. She had been on the receiving end of the complaining and criticizing. Unlike me, she had researched the race and found out about the girl who started it. True, there were things that could have been better about the race, but rather than focus on its deficits, she decided to encourage the one who had put out the idea and done it! Not only did she find kind things to post about the race (trust me, the negatives had been well-covered) but she also took the time to send a personal email to its creator. WOW!!! Most of us find time to register out complaints with bad service or poor experiences, but how many of us take the time to never find fault, to praise those who go above and beyond (like the CB waitress who was kind to us after taking one of her tables for 3 hours!), or to extend kindness to those in need. Maybe that's part of those rhythms of grace I need to learn. I read in Calm My Anxious Heart that one of the keys to contentment is never to complain. I'd probably have a lot less to say if I adopted that habit (not a bad thing at all) ... but that my words would be seasoned with grace ... how different could the world around my life look! I think I'm gonna work on that!
* Undeserved favor
* What we cannot do for ourselves
* Not getting what we deserve
From Webster's:
* unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
* disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
* a charming or attractive trait or characteristic
From Scripture:
Usually "grace" is the translation of the Greek "charis" found over 150 times in the New Testament, usually in Paul's writings.
Most of us can quote Ephesians 2:8 which says "for by grace we are saved through faith ..."
or Ephesians 4:7, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift."
Being a big fan of the message, I love its rendering of Matthew 11:28 which says,
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
... the unforced rhythms of GRACE ... now that's something I'd like to set about learning this year. Wonder what that would look like. Anyone??
From others:
And you know, when you've experienced grace and you feel like you've been forgiven, you're a lot more forgiving of other people. You're a lot more gracious to others. - Rick Warren
Grace is love that pays a price. - unknown
One of my most poignant lessons in grace came last night over dinner. We were talking about a race we had recently run. Me, being the critic, commented that I wanted to list all the things wrong with that race until I read my friend's grace-filled, kind comments on the website. Her response, I hope has changed my view on people and on grace and on criticizing. She said she had learned in previous ventures the power that others' criticism had. She had been on the receiving end of the complaining and criticizing. Unlike me, she had researched the race and found out about the girl who started it. True, there were things that could have been better about the race, but rather than focus on its deficits, she decided to encourage the one who had put out the idea and done it! Not only did she find kind things to post about the race (trust me, the negatives had been well-covered) but she also took the time to send a personal email to its creator. WOW!!! Most of us find time to register out complaints with bad service or poor experiences, but how many of us take the time to never find fault, to praise those who go above and beyond (like the CB waitress who was kind to us after taking one of her tables for 3 hours!), or to extend kindness to those in need. Maybe that's part of those rhythms of grace I need to learn. I read in Calm My Anxious Heart that one of the keys to contentment is never to complain. I'd probably have a lot less to say if I adopted that habit (not a bad thing at all) ... but that my words would be seasoned with grace ... how different could the world around my life look! I think I'm gonna work on that!
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