Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Freely

Have you ever noticed that it's easier to extend grace when you have already received grace?
The more we understand: John 8:4, 7 They said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery." He straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.", the less we are inclined to throw stones.
Matthew 10:8 “Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
Luke 7:47 “Impressive, isn't it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.
It's not that some of us haven't received very much grace, but perhaps we aren't as aware of how much we have already been forgiven.
It's the 'sinners' among us that better realize how much love and forgiveness mean to us. It's easier to be patient with someone in an area that I know I need patience with.
Mark 5:19, 20 But He would not let him; instead, He told him, “Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you.” So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.
Thinking that we have already arrived, and have need of nothing can be a very detrimental thing. Luke 18:24 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God's kingdom?"
So don't be embarrassed about realizing how great God's forgiveness has been in your life. Let it be a catalyst to energize you to extend that forgiveness to others.
And if you tend to find it difficult to see how God could forgive someone for ________ (fill in the blank with whatever sin you think God can't or shouldn't forgive), then seek to better understand how gracious God has already been to you.

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