After a rather heated discussion with someone today I got to thinking about grace. What exactly is grace and how do you show someone grace? Grace is simply unearned mercy and unmerited favor. When we show kindness to another person that doesn't deserve kindness we are living a life of grace. When we love them even though they haven't earned it that is grace.
Grace is a big challenge for most of us because we want it shown to us. We want people to forgive us when we haven't earned it, to love us when we haven't been lovable, to be merciful to us when we haven't shown others mercy. When it comes to the wrongs committed against us most of us want justice instead of grace.
God is just the opposite. God commands us to love the the unloving, to forgive the unforgiving, and to give to those who haven't yet earned it. Jesus was talking one time to a woman at a well who was a known prostitute. While he was talking to her a bunch of religious folks approached wanting to stone this woman because of her wrongs. Jesus basically said. O.k. cool, whichever one of you is blameless go ahead and throw the first stone. Of course, they all went away sad.
Man that is so us some times.
We have the stones and are just looking for reasons to throw them...........remember that every time you have a stone in your hand....
