Grace, the Bridge

June being the month of love, I’m musing on the fact that only God possesses (and offers without limit) the inexhaustible love and grace humans desperately need in order to live and succeed in lasting, loving relationships.

The more the world says “love yourself” and “you deserve better”, the more I cringe. We love ourselves plenty, guys. And we need to rethink what we deserve, maybe take a closer look in the mirror before we decide we deserve an upgrade in any area of relationship.

I know, who wants to look that deep? Do you enjoy digging into what’s really, truly lurking in your own heart of hearts? I don’t.

Here’s the incredible thing: God already sees it all and knows that the human heart is desperately wicked and deceitful (Jer 17:9). He knows and sees ALL of our junk, and in SO much more clear detail than we ever can or want to. AND YET HE LOVES US. This blows my mind.

Uplifting thoughts, I know. But there’s an upside here, trust me.

God’s grace is amazing and unearnable and inexhaustible, which is awesome news both for us and for the bonehead who just stole the parking space we were aiming for. As believers, we have the incredible offer of full pardon, of forgiveness, of a grace that says, “I love you because I am love, not because you check all my boxes.” Grace that forgives AND forgets — FULLY, not partially, not ok, I forgive you today but when you tick me off again Ima bring up ALL your mistakes with both barrels.

You and I, believer, receive a ridiculous amount of much needed grace from God, and not just to benefit ourselves, but to offer just as fully and and as unconditionally to those around us. They’re imperfect, and so am I.

And, sorry, so are you.

And let’s be honest (might as well since we’ve come this far): There’s an honor system in regard to our own standards, our approval checkoff list. My standards of virtue in others should not be higher than the standards I expect from myself. Ok, so far, so good. But… we trust that we, the sole gatekeepers of our own integrity, are holding ourselves to our standards of virtue in good faith. Are we meeting them perfectly? Mostly? A few misses here and there? When we miss the mark, do we cut ourselves some slack and move on?

And do we respond with the same amount of grace to others?

The good news is that though we really do have to deal with the flaws and weaknesses of others, we as Christians are not left to our natural resources and human impulses (thank God) to deal with them. We have a Savior who knows and sees all, who loves us and gave his life for us, and who sent his Spirit to live in us, who cleanses, renews, and empowers us to live and to love like he does. The Spirit of the God of Grace lives in me—which I need to remember when my buttons get pushed. I am not good. But he is. And he is faithful, patient, and willing to help, which is great because I need all the help I can get.

Jesus’s constant faithfulness and grace toward me, his living word pressed deep into my heart, and the power and constant proximity of his Spirit are priceless tools for this bumpy earthly journey. My prayer is that I remember to use them every moment, every day, his way, not mine.

We are not islands. We are not here to create giant chasms between ourselves and others that they must find a way to cross. Grace is the bridge that Christ offers us, and it’s up to us to extend it to others.

~Camille

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If Not For Other Humans…

Hot buttons. We all have them… those things that bring out the less flattering side of us when the right one gets pushed.

As a believer, I know I need to see with the eyes of grace. I need to rise above human failings and offenses. Need to step back and think of the bigger picture, the spiritual principle, the eternal significance of a wise, well-placed word.

Sometimes, I remember this.

And then… there are those other times. The times my particular hot button gets pushed and the last thing I want is someone pointing out that Jesus would never call that driver a bonehead. Jesus would never take offense at being falsely accused and fire off a text. Jesus wouldn’t see someone coming toward him in the store and spin and duck down a different aisle.

There are times that my lack of grace for others does not reflect well on me. That my negativity or complaint or harsh view of someone’s behavior doesn’t reflect well on Jesus and his spirit living in me. Do I have to like others’ idiotic driving? No. Do I have to take harsh treatment? No.

But what does my response to others’ failings and flaws and thoughtless choices reveal about the state of my heart?

When I’m more inclined to react “in the flesh” (meaning my hot button has been pushed) I need to really take a look at why. Is it the other person’s fault?

Well, duh, if not for other humans, I’d be all sweetness and light all the time. (ha!)

But… since I have been known to seek the Lord’s ways instead of my own, and ask for the ability to see people or situations with eyes of grace instead of with my nearsightedness, I realize that grace is a supernatural reaction, and is therefore possible. Not just possible, but expected of those saved by grace.

So why are some situations harder to respond to in grace than others?

In my observation, most people have at least one hot button. That one thing that flips our switch and has us off and running (or swearing, or slandering, or responding) before we have a chance to ask ourselves What Would Jesus Do?

What’s missing? I don’t know about you, but I find that a day began and bathed in prayer and the word is a day I’m more inclined to look at things through a spiritual lens, rather than just the natural. When I don’t begin the day focused on the Lord, it’s like using my phone all day and then forgetting to plug it at night, then trying to use it the next day. It needs to be recharged. And not just once a week, but daily.

We need to plug in to the Source and seek the Lord for daily renewal. We need the word, worship, and prayer. And we need to take the truths of scripture to a more intimate level, to press those truths deeper, from the mind to the spirit, from the natural to the supernatural, where God’s grace and wisdom transcend the world and the flesh and our rights and our petty grievances and our offended, wounded pride and being disrespected and a hundred other hot buttons. In quietness and prayer, the One who wrote the word speaks truth into me, lives in me, breathes his life into me, makes me new, gives me strength and power to overcome, gives me victory over sin and tailgaters and false accusations and offense.

If I begin my day in the spirit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 is one of my favorite verses:

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.

Because when I begin my day in the spirit, I have a better chance at responding not in a natural way but supernatural. It shields me from the careless, the thoughtless, and it helps me rise above, gives me perspective. Creates a protective shell so that my nerves aren’t so exposed, so sensitive. It allows time for grace to fall like a blanket of snow and cocoon the situation, and perhaps helps me to see a bit like how God sees.

And when I don’t begin my day that way, well … oh wow, would you look at the time!

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  -Galatians 5:16-26

If you’re willing to admit it, what’s your hot button? Does beginning your day in the word and in prayer make a difference in the way you respond when your buttons get pushed?

Okay, here’s the question I really want to ask: Can you show grace to those who should know better and yet sometimes trip and fall right on their hot button? Do you, like me, tend to forget that other humans have moments of weakness, when maybe they’ve run their battery down and are in dire need of a recharge?

I hope I’m not defined only by moments of weakness, moments when my response doesn’t reflect well on me. It’s hard to remember to give the same grace to others that I would like shown to me. It’s also hard to not define a person by a mistake or an unflattering action. (Or am I the only one who struggles with this?)

Or do we expect everyone—except for us—to be perfect?

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