I guess Grace and Forgiveness are my life’s constant theme. Grace and Forgiveness are at the core of pretty much everything I have to say, from stories and novels, to plays, to blog posts, to podcasts. This doesn’t mean I’ve got Grace and Forgiveness mastered. Far from it. It means I’m in a constant state of learning and practicing in this life-lab, trying to grow in or be transformed by them, trying to be more like Jesus.
I guess I’m a professional student of God’s amazing grace.
A woman passed me on the road this morning headed the other way at top speed on an electric razor, weathered, far too thin, scabby, pale, toothless. Probably using the only transportation she can legally drive. Too hard to tell her age, as she was clearly suffering from long-term drug abuse. I hurt for her, the cold, brutal slavery she must struggle beneath, then the thought hit me: That could be me. At 16, I was headed into drug abuse and all the bondage attached to it when I met Jesus and he took hold of my life. There, but for the amazing, incomprehensible grace of God, go I.
The grace of God is powerful. It’s kind of ruthless in its persistence. And yet I still find the need to constantly be reminded of the grace I’ve been shown, the grace that is mine, the grace I’m obligated-commanded-duty bound-privileged to show to everyone around me. We need grace. Every last one of us. Why is it so easy to accept God’s grace and forgiveness, and then be so miserly with it when other humans display their weaknesses or thoughtless, selfish behavior, their flaws and imperfections? As if I don’t have flaws or weaknesses, as if I don’t need a little mercy from time to time?
Life is a constant reminder to me that I need to show more grace, need to replace impatience with generosity of heart, judgment with compassion, words with attentive silence. I guess I’ll be talking about Grace until I die, because I’ll never get to the last layer of selfish self that needs peeled away until I meet Jesus.
Learning to be a conduit of God’s grace is a life-long pursuit.
The majority of my posts on this blog are tagged “grace.” Here’s proof: https://camilleeide.wordpress.com/tag/grace
And here’s one on the topic of Impossible Grace: https://camilleeide.wordpress.com/2019/09/13/impossible-grace/
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