Grace Upon Grace
By soundmindandheart In Uncategorized On September 15, 2015
John 1:16
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. NASB
When I read this verse, I am reminded of the phrase, but for the grace of God so go I. We are a very blessed people to be honored with the grace and mercy of God. He not only gives us grace, but He showers us with grace upon grace. This encourages me.
Since we are so blessed with mercy and grace, why do we have a hard time showing these things to some people? This question haunts me on a daily basis. It haunts me because I am guilty of judging others when I am forgiven. It seems to me that we should one day learn that we are His hands and feet and that we should show the world our love, mercy and grace towards them. However, we fail. Why?
There are several things that cause this in my life. The first is pride. The Bible is clear that pride comes before a fall. When we are being prideful, we had better watch out because God will trip us to see it. The second is applying our standards to someone else. For example, I have walked with the Lord for many years and I am required to act like a good Christian following the Bible does. When I see a fellow Christian especially one on leadership in the Church acting below my standards, this can get me into trouble. I know that I should first pray for the person and ask God’s will in the situation, but I can be quick to correct. Have you ever been there my friend? The third thing that causes me to judge others is when their behavior hurts me. This is unique to every person, but it happens to all of us. What should we do? Again, pray first and then do what God tells you to do. I try and use Matthew 18 as much as possible, but there are times that God will only allow prayer and require us to give love, mercy and grace to the person. In other words, keep your mouth shut about the hurt and allow God to correct.
These things are difficult to get right every time, but the good news is that God always forgives us and gives us another chance. Please look at your life and choose the path of love, grace and mercy. God will bless you and use you for His glory.
I am comforted by the following verse to close:
Philippians 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. NASB
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