It's a blessing to be a grandparent ** Grace

Ephesians 2 vs 8 and 9

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

God’s grace, is the gift that is offered to us freely, that forgives us from our sins after we miss the mark and fail.

Grace, is always about God’s unmerited favor.

It’s God giving us something we don’t deserve, something we could never earn or ever repay.

I’m sure you’ve heard the acronym: God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.

It’s easy to remember. But what does it mean?

Understanding grace is essential to following Jesus, and we need to fully comprehend its meaning.

So often, grace, forgiveness and trust all get muddled together, as though they’re all alike, yet nothing is further from the truth.

Even though all three are connected to following Jesus…

Grace is for [our] enemies.

God demonstrated grace for us when He sacrificed Jesus to save us while we were His enemies (Colossians 1:21-22).

We can’t ever do anything to deserve His sacrifice.

That’s what makes it grace…That’s why it is a gift… because it’s undeserved.

Grace is loving people who don't deserve love…

That’s the picture of grace we’re supposed to use.

It’s showing compassion and mercy and kindness to people who have hurt you, lied about you, gossiped about you… no matter what they’ve done…

Because of Grace we still love them.  (Matthew 5:44).

And we can never love them in our own strength. The only way we can love people who’ve hurt us or betrayed us is with Christ’s strength.

Realistically, that’s going to look different in every situation.

In some cases, loving someone may mean speaking kindly to them or about them.

In some cases, loving someone will mean stepping away from them, getting out of their lives and letting them face the consequences of their actions without you there to soften the blow.

Oftentimes, our nature wants to cling to our wounds…

We think that rehashing it in our mind will help provide us with wisdom to face the same situation again.

But, that’s a lie. Going over those hurtful memories isn’t helpful…

It only makes the wound in our heart harder to heal. 

We must, let it go.

Because, following Jesus isn’t about you. It’s about Him.

So, Pry your fingers off those old wounds. And let God work.

Recognize that whoever hurt you is imperfect, just like you.

And don’t talk about how that person hurt you, that just keeps the cycle going.

If someone asks… respond saying you have prayed about the situation and it’s now in God’s hands….

Doing this will help you, by not adding fuel to a fire or allow sadness or bitterness in your heart…