Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2

By definition, it’s unearned.

Undeserved.

But it’s what we all need.

Desperately.

It’s a blanket of peace that touches our soul.

Where would we be without it?  We’d be shells of bitterness.

Worthless, if you want to know what I really think.

But if you expect grace for yourself – if you crave it because you constantly fall down – you must extend grace personally to others.

Not just once.

But all the time.

Constantly.

Because it’s not about you.

It’s not about what you do and don’t deserve.

People will fail you.

Guaranteed.

And don’t forget yourself.

You need to extend grace to yourself as well.

Here’s a news flash.  Are you ready?

No one is perfect.

Not one.

Jesus was the only perfect man and He’s in heaven.

You aren’t perfect, your spouse isn’t perfect, and the lady at the grocery store isn’t either.

Expect disappointment.

Expect people to fail you.

Assuming we aren’t referring to abuse (which in that case is another matter entirely), grace must be given regularly to others.

Liberally.

How much grace does God give you?

As much as you need.

So how many times should you give grace to others and yourself?

As much as necessary.

That means a lot.

Probably more than you are dishing out now.

Gulp.

But I don’t want to.

It’s more fun to hold grudges and make people pay for hurting me.

Yes I know.

I’ve been to that party.

Ever look around when you’re there?

Look at their faces.

Anger.  Brokenness.  Sadness. Void of emotion. Revenge.

Not the party which I want to stay.

Here’s a thought.

Next time you’re invited to hold a grudge or react in anger, try grace.

Stop your brain dead in it’s tracks and invite Jesus to take control of your thoughts, your reactions.

Grace.

Just speak the word and your brain will begin focusing on it.

Change the thought, extend grace, and you’ll be simply amazed at your peaceful heart.

Let’s stop living in Grudgeville and Poor Me Place.

Move to Graceville.

There’s plenty of room to move right in.

And I hear the weather is simply lovely today.

 Photos by niko photos, Silvestri Matteo, Aaron Burden, Harshil Gudka, Flash Dantz, & sutirta budiman on Unsplash