To Christians grace is the kindness that God gives them even when they don’t deserve it. In the Bible, Ephesians 2:8, it says ‘It is by grace you were saved through faith, and not of yourself’.
For me grace is present in all our lives, Christian or not. Grace is allowing people to make mistakes and forgiving those mistakes when they do. I am thankful to God that He has given us an outline of how we can live by grace so that we can live a life filled with showing grace towards one another. For without grace in our lives we’d be filled with hurt, anger and wanting to get revenge or punish others when they do something wrong against us.
In my life I have experienced people who were not gracious towards me. There was one time when I was going through a difficult time and was moody towards others, including my friends. I had one particular friend who was like a sister to me (we’ve been through thick and thin together since the age of four). Sadly in this hard time my friend wasn’t able to be gracious to me and forgive me for my moods. Instead of asking me what was wrong and if she could help, she didn’t invite me to her birthday party and she said that just because I wasn’t talking to her it wouldn’t make her feel sorry for me. This was the end of our friendship for a while but overtime and reflection, I have been able to show grace towards her and we are now rebuilding our friendship.
I have come to realise that although initially it seems easier to resent what people may do to us in the long run we are the ones who end up feeling hurt and depressed. I want to live a life of grace mirroring the grace we have from God. This isn’t easy as it means I have to let go of the pain and the past but I know, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.” Philippians 4:13
So how can we show Grace to one another?
Well, there are many ways that we can show grace to one another, such as:
- Say Thank You to others for what they have done for you.
- Apologise to others to show you are asking for their grace for what you have done wrong.
- Forgive when someone has done wrong to show you have given your grace.
- Look for the Needs of Others- helping others even in a small situation (e.g. opening the door for someone).
- Speaking to others with gentleness and kindness; to show grace towards them.
In the long run, everyone can show Grace whether their Christian or not. Some people already do some of the things that are listed, but they may not have realised that they are doing so. Or maybe they have but just think it’s out of their kindness not out of their faith in God. For Christians grace is something we should be thankful for and strive to live out everyday.
Written By Tara Maria