Grace Undeserved

We all have people in our lives who need our help, and who need our grace. They could be people with large or small problems. They might be family members, friends, or even the strangers that God occasionally sends our way. One thing is always true though:  if you care about people, if you put yourself out there, you are going to get hurt sometimes. Your heart will be broken, or at least bruised, and that is just a part of life. In fact, the more you care the more likely you are to be hurt because when we open up our hearts is when we are most vulnerable. And it’s easy to write people off, or to give up on them. In fact, when folks need us the most is when they are also most likely to offend us … and that is the challenge, dear friends.

As a Christian my example is Jesus, who showed me so much more grace than I could have ever deserved. His love for me, and for you by the way, has no basis whatsoever in my deserving it. Indeed, rather than being based upon any inherent value in me, His love is actually what gives me value. God could have given up on me. He could have written me off when I offended Him, and turned His back on me when I turned my back on Him. Instead He sent His Son to die for my sins and draw me into eternal relationship with Him. That is the meaning of grace, and one of the foundations of Christianity. This morning in church we sang a song entitled One Thing Remains, the chorus of which repeats the words, “Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me.” That captures the spirit of grace beautifully, and that kind of love must, by nature, trickle down into our human relationships.

So what about those people in my life, the ones who need my help … and my grace? If I am the recipient of so much undeserved grace how can I possibly withhold it from others, especially when my love and grace may actually be, at least in part, the manifestation of God’s grace to them? I have to love them and offer them the kind of grace that I have received.  So think about your own life. Who are you getting ready to write off or give up on? Better yet, who do you feel called to love and show grace to?  

Here’s what I know for sure. I’ve received way more grace than I’ll ever be able to reciprocate. But I’m going to do my best and I call upon you to join me. Together, and with God’s help, we can change this hurting world.

Grace Undeserved

In a moment of frustration
I was ready to declare
“That’s it, I quit, let’s walk away
It just hurts too much to care”
But then God calmed my spirit
As He soothed me patiently
And I realized I can’t give up
Even when folks challenge me
Because my Lord and my example
Had the chance to walk away
He could have left me to my sins
And God knows where I’d be today
But He didn’t quit, He didn’t judge
He didn’t abandon me
Though I was utterly undeserving
Jesus still chose Calvary
So when I seem at wit’s end
With those I’m called to serve
I remember that the grace I’ve known
Was not what I deserve
So give me strength, oh Savior
And remind me constantly
That I must love as You loved
The ones entrusted to me
           By Frank Carpenter ©

For more on this subject check out this previous blog entry as well:  http://frankcarpenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/forgiveness