See to it that no one misses
the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile
many~ Hebrews 12:15
Here is the content of a recent
conversation I had with one of my children, who will remain nameless to protect
their identity…
Child: Mom, will you pray for me?
Me: Sure. Is there anything in particular
you would like me to pray about?
Child: I have a math test today.
Me: How long did you have to study for the
test?
Child: (sheepishly) All of fall break…
Me: So, did you study for this test at all
or are you relying solely on the power of prayer to get you through?
Child: (blushing furiously) Prayer,
mostly…
Me: Mostly or entirely?
Child: Almost entirely…
I did pray for the child; it was hard to
pray with a straight face because I knew that this child had spent all of fall
break perfecting the art of taking it easy. My husband and I both had a good
laugh when I shared the story with him later that day.
The conversation at dinner between my
husband and child went something like this…
Dad to Child: So, I heard you had a math
test today?
Child: Mom told you?
Dad: Mom tells me everything.
Child: Don’t worry, it all worked out
because the test was rescheduled!
Dad: Do you know what you got today?
Child: Yes! An answer to prayer!
Dad: No you got grace… Don’t waste it.
My husband’s wise and thoughtful answer
got me thinking about the nature and meaning of grace. God’s grace has been
defined in many ways by people who are much smarter than I; some of the more
common descriptions are: unmerited favor, kindness, undeserved mercy, God’s
empowering presence, God’s riches at Christ’s expense. All of these are very good and theologically
correct answers, but I prefer my own more homespun definition: grace is a shot
at an undeserved do-over, an opportunity for a second chance.
God is the originator of grace. It all
started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve did the ONE THING God asked
them not to and instead of ending the human race at the get-go God gave them a
shot at a much needed do-over. God has been in the business of grace ever
since. Grace was modeled perfectly in the life of Jesus and through His death and
resurrection; a second chance at life was made available to anyone humble
enough to admit their need. Grace isn’t just about salvation; grace can and
should be a way of life for a Christ-follower.
As
Christians we are called to be both givers and receivers of grace. It’s easy to
be a receiver of grace (ask my kid); it’s in our nature to long for a second
chance. It is much harder to be a giver
of grace; it seems to go against the grain of human nature to give second
chances.
We
give grace by talking through our hurt or anger and working things out rather
than simply discarding difficult relationships. We give grace by forgiving and completely
letting go of hurts and grudges. We give grace by overlooking offenses and
choosing to think the best of people. We give grace by acting like Jesus.
Grace is essential for Christian community
to thrive. A lack of it destroys marriages, separates friends, obliterates any
sort of intimacy, puts a wall between parents and children and gives the devil
enough of a foothold to cause all sorts of havoc and trouble. Giving grace is
not an easy thing, it’s essential because grace is freeing. It frees us from
the bondage of resentment and bitterness and opens the doors for true Christian
community to flourish.
There are two ways we can waste grace; the
first is to deliberately blow the second chances that we are graciously given.
When God or another person gives us a much-needed do-over we need to do our
best to make their effort worthwhile. We do that by repenting, changing our
minds about our sin and then changing our behavior. Repentance always begins in
our thinking; right thinking transforms behavior.
The second way we waste grace is when we
throw away God-given opportunities to be a givers of grace. We waste grace when
we obsessively focus on stuff that is best left in God’s hands. We waste grace
when we are given the opportunity to see the good and we choose to see the bad,
we waste grace when we refuse to forgive as we have been forgiven.
Life is too short and people are too
precious to throwaway those God-given opportunities, my prayer for you this
week, reader, is that you will neither waste the grace you are given nor waste
an opportunity to be a giver of grace.
As God’s grace reaches more
and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more
and more glory~ 2nd Corinthians 4:15 NLT