Experience everyday grace expressed through the practical things in life and through loving-kindness.
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” – Ephesians 2:6-8
This word ‘grace’ is often thrown around in our church circles, and with good reason! Grace is the foundation of our belief in Jesus Christ. Without the grace of the Lord, we would not be alive. He said if we sinned we would surely die, but yet, here we sit, at the right hand of Father God, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:20).
This is the mystery of our connection with the Lord, but for today, I have a few thoughts to share on how grace can be expressed through a couple of different things.
Grace Expressed In The Ordinary
I love how the ordinary becomes the extraordinary when it is done in relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you think about it, just about anything can become a miracle in your daily life and from my perspective, this is grace.
Often, the world is able to see the blessing and the difference in the life of a born-again believer. Whether this is through the way we treat those around us with kindness and honour, or the way we are able to make business decisions with integrity and justice.
The mark on our lives as believers is as a result of God’s grace, and it comes from receiving His love. This fragrance, and mark of love, can be expressed through the smallest and most practical moments each day. It doesn’t need to look like falling on the ground in a worship service, although praise Jesus if this happens or has happened to you! But God’s grace can be expressed through the little things because He is Immanuel, God with us, even in the small details of our lives. This is good news!
Grace Expressed In Relationship
Relationships of any kind are dances of grace. Have you ever heard that a long-standing marriage is really just a pair of people who are really good at forgiving? This can apply to family relationships and to special friendships as well.
Relationships can be tough because everyone is so uniquely designed that we can sometimes bump heads with different personalities and perspectives. Even the best of relationships have had their disagreements. It’s through these disagreements that, often, we can find a level of grace and acceptance for one another through compromise, or by agreeing to disagree.
With forgiveness, grace flows naturally as a consequence thereof. Just look at what the cross means for us today. Jesus paid the price so that we can be forgiven and accepted into the realm of grace and welcomed into relationship with God for eternity.
Grace Expressed Through Self-Care
This might cause you to raise your eyebrows, but bear with me for a second.
Self-care is probably one of the number one keywords in search engines around the world today. What this tells me is that we have a world filled with a need for grace.
If you think about what self-care means, it is essentially an ability to take care of oneself! We do this by eating healthily, exercising, enjoying the smaller things in life and embracing the moments and things that tickle us from the inside out. Self-care is kind of like giving yourself a hug.
It is biblical to look after our bodies, minds, emotions and spirit. Scripture talks about our physical bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), renewing our minds in The Word (Romans 12:1-2), and doing everything we do for the Glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Do you think that maybe looking after our physical bodies is an expression of God’s grace? Whenever we are kind to ourselves, the kindness overflows to those around us and we are able to be kind to others (Matthew 29:39). Just something to think about.
Grace Given, Is First Grace Received
It’s hard to give grace or love without first receiving it for yourself, from the only true source of both of these gifts. You see, God is love (1 John 4), and His character depicts grace, kindness and mercy, while also being the God of overall judgement (crazy sovereignty right? But we’ll save that for another blog!).
At the end of the day, when you receive God’s grace and then have grace and love with yourself, you will automatically overflow with grace for others. God’s grace towards you is infinite and eternal, and He deeply cares for you (John 3:16).
If you are feeling like this is a struggle for you in a season where the world is on lockdown then put your hand on your heart and pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank you for your loving-kindness towards me, and my family.
Thank you for your patience and unending love for me.
Please will you soften my heart to receive more of your peace, kindness and patience. Will you forgive me for where I have held onto bitterness, envy or any other wicked attitude . Forgive me for where I have not received your love for me, for where I have struggled to love myself and others.
I choose to receive your love, acceptance and grace for me today.
Holy Spirit, will you show me how to receive your grace in every moment so that I can love you more, and be a blessing to those around me.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
If you would like to prayer with one of our prayer warriors, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us! We would love to pray with you.
