I See Grace
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
Is grace greater than all our sin? Absolutely yes! Otherwise, there is a good chance we would not be here today reading this.
Everyday we are privileged to see God’s grace at work all around us: in the workplace, families, marriages, legal issues and yes, even at church. Some of the most unkind, hateful and breath-taking incidents have happened in the church (to the point that people almost came to blows) and yet God’s grace has erased the sins. We can’t unsee what we saw in any situation, but we can see His hand in the restoration process.
Our words and actions don’t always come out right. Feelings are hurt. Anger rises. More words are exchanged. Then, the quiet settles like a weighted blanket and tongues are silenced. God’s grace comes in to examine the damage. All involved point fingers at each other. They are left to look inward for resolution. They have sinned. Equally? Well, sin is sin. But His grace takes hold of the frayed ends and healing begins.
We rejoice when hard feelings are downgraded from hurricane force. We embrace families where marriages have been mended. We do a mummer’s strut when justice takes over legal issues. But we don’t always navigate church messes very well. Now, if God’s grace can do all these former things, why can’t it knit churches back together? It does. We just don’t get excited or react the same way. In fact, in most cases, we don’t react at all.
But what about this grace? How do we see it? We certainly don’t earn it or deserve it but there it is anyway. Probably His empty tomb is the greatest example of His grace. He died to erase all my sins—and there were/are many. When I was a prodigal, He found me. He did not have to do that but He did. My colorful past is a far, distant memory—but a life lesson that brought me to today.
Hallelujah! His grace is amazing! Take a sacred pause. Look for it because it exists.
Loving Lord, thank You for Your grace that covers us. Help us to see Your grace in action beyond stepping out of that tomb. AMEN.