What if … We Give Ourselves Grace

We’re on the second half of the “What if … 10 ways to live well in today’s world” series. I hope you are finding encouragement and freedom through these posts. John 10:10 is one of my favorite verses because it reminds me of two important things:

Life is going to be difficult some days. There is an enemy who wants to devour us.

BUT {and oh this is good!}

Jesus has won the victory for us. And therefore we have not just a mediocre existence … we have overflowing life to the full.

Living well isn’t just a pipe dream for the believer, it is part of our inheritance through Christ!!

So far we’ve looked at five ways we can live in that abundant life God offers—by doing something instead of everything, by embracing good enough, by taking a nap, by choosing to be content, and by pursuing our passions. Today we’ll be exploring another important what if question:

What if … we give ourselves grace?

What if we give ourselves grace? http://wp.me/p3aJPA-22V Share on X

Grace. The unmerited favor of God.

We can’t earn it and we can’t demand it. God gives it. Not because of our character but because of His. And yet, far too often, we are guilty of hoarding the very grace bestowed on us.

We rank sins and assign levels of forgiveness. We devour those who sin differently than we do. One glance at my Facebook stream is evidence of the vitriol we little Christs can spew when we’re riled up about something or someone.

And yet, there is this simple truth: we are all destined for eternal death outside the grace of God. All of us. Even the good girls. Even the best of us. Just like the bad boys. Just like the worst of us. Sin, any sin, one sin, all sin, separates us from God and condemns us to the judgment we deserve—death.

But grace.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:4-9 {emphasis added}

This grace changes us. It has to. Because if we don’t deserve it, then we aren’t capable of deciding when to give it and who to give it to. We have to give it just as freely as we have received it. We know this. But it’s hard to live.

And yet, as hard as it can be for us to give grace to others … there are days when the hardest person for me to give grace to is myself.

Sometimes the hardest person to give grace to is myself. http://wp.me/p3aJPA-22V Share on X

I can only see what’s wrong, what I could have done, what I should have said, who I wish I was. Maybe you can relate?

One of the greatest gifts of the abundant life God offers us is permission to give ourselves grace. There is freedom in the knowledge that each morning brings new mercies, each day offers a fresh start. Giving ourselves grace is not the easy way of out — it’s the only way to grow. When we fail to give ourselves grace, we become consumed with our failures and allow our sin to define us. But when we trust the grace of God is sufficient, then we confess and repent — and walk in the truth of our identity in HIM!

Maybe you’ve been beating yourself up a lot lately. Maybe you haven’t had the patience you want with your children. Maybe you are struggling to let go of the guilt for the sin in your past. Maybe you really messed it all up and you can’t forgive yourself.

Here’s the truth: God’s grace is real and boundless and for you.

Grab hold of the freedom in this truth and walk in it!

xo,

Teri Lynne