Grace, Freely Given; Freely We Give

Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin.

-from the hymn, Grace Greater Than Our Sin, by Julia H. Johnston

But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins,
he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead—
only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved—
and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms—

all because of what Christ Jesus did.

Ephesians 2:4-6 TLB

None of us is deserving of God’s abundant grace- NOT ONE of us. But, because of His great love for us, He extends grace to us who are completely unworthy of Him to even look on us, let alone adopt us as His children for eternity.

ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

We are like the adulterous woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, while all around her were “righteous” men casting judgment and whispering among themselves about her sinfulness. But, the One who was truly righteous, who had never sinned, looked on her with love. He addressed the ones who were spitting indignance in her direction, and even at Jesus Himself, who allowed His feet to be washed by her.





"…I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:47-50 ESV

God’s grace is relentless. It will not be deterred. By others, or even by us. He saved us by His Great Grace. Those of us who have been Christians for a long time sometimes set aside this truth on the back of a high shelf as if the gospel is no longer something we need to consider for ourselves. Been there, done that. But, it is something we should consider at every moment of every day. It should be our first thought when we wake up, and our last thought when we go to sleep. It is something we should meditate on when we’re alone in our thoughts and it should be the driving force in our interactions with others.

Why then, when so many of us have experienced this Amazing Grace, not just when we received His life-changing salvation, but EVERY DAY of our lives, can’t we extend grace to each other?

Almighty God is completely pure and holy and He willingly forgives us when we stumble over that same filthy, familiar sin again and again, but when a brother or sister in Christ offends us, we lash out with anger and indignance? Isn’t it our goal to be like Jesus?

Because I live in an isolated place, miles away from the nearest fellowship of believers that speak my language, I guess it becomes easier for me to extend grace. I ache for Christian fellowship and when a sister or brother has hurt me, for the sake of the relationship that I really want to continue, I forgive. I have tried to justify the ugliness Jesus-followers throw at each other on social media in that way. I scroll down… I hide it. But, I can’t say that it doesn’t still break my heart! It grieves me that we can’t extend even a fraction of the limitless grace our Heavenly Father has given and still gives to us every moment.

I am certainly not perfect. Believe me, I can be ugly, too. It’s probably the worst for my husband, who has to live with me when I’m lonely, missing my kids and other loved ones, when I’m hot and tired and don’t want to struggle to live in this culture anymore. He is a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy, but also, he loves Jesus, which makes him more gracious to me than I deserve. And, I am so thankful for him.

I want to be like the repentant woman who washed Jesus’ feet. Because she was forgiven much, she loved much. The measure of our grace with each other is not our neighbor (or our FB friend), it’s Jesus. He chose us. Because of Him, we are adopted as children of Almighty God and have been given new life, filled with the gracious gift of His Holy Spirit, who is our Helper in all of this.

Since you have been chosen by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love and concern for you, you should practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. Don’t worry about making a good impression on them, but be ready to suffer quietly and patiently.

Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Most of all, let love guide your life, for then the whole church will stay together in perfect harmony. Let the peace of heart that comes from Christ be always present in your hearts and lives, for this is your responsibility and privilege as members of his body. And always be thankful.

Colossians 3:12-15 TLB

There’s another time that the Bible tells a story about foot-washing. This time, it was Jesus, the perfect, sinless lover and forgiver, who took off His outer garment and knelt down in front of each of His disciples and not only told them, but SHOWED them how He wanted to them love and serve one another. Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, washed the dirty feet of this rag-tag group of men that would, by His Spirit’s leading and equipping, take the world by storm for His glory.

Jesus said to them,

“You call me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord,’ and you do well to say it, for it is true. And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.

I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you.”

John 13:13-15 TLB

Let’s follow the example of our Master and Lord. As He freely gives grace to us, we freely give grace to each other.