I don’t know about any of you, but I
occasionally have a difficult time giving equal
grace to others. What I mean is this: I
sometimes fail to extend the same grace to
others that I extend to myself. I know my
faults, my foibles, my shortcomings, my
imperfections, my eccentricities, etc. I have
lived with them for practically my entire life
(although, as most of us know, some of them
develop over time, so we don’t start life with
all of them). As a result, I am accustomed to
my own failures. They do not surprise me;
therefore, it is relatively easy for me to accept
grace from myself.
None of us, however (including me), is as
well acquainted with others as we are with
ourselves. This too often means that the
grace we give ourselves in our own lives
tends to be far greater and far more prevalent
than that which we might otherwise offer to
others. Said another way, most of us tend to
forgive self readily while not forgiving others
for the same flaws. I am convinced that this is
part of the natural human condition.
Reminding them of the unity that they have
in Christ Jesus, Paul told the church in
Ephesus that it is that very same Jesus who is
the giver of grace. It is the perfect Christ of
God—the absolute standard against which we
are to constantly measure our lives—who
grants to people the grace of God. Jesus is
the ultimate exemplar—it is to Jesus that we
look as the model of our thoughts and our
behavior. It is from our flawless Savior as well
that we receive grace.
Ponder that for just a moment. The
Savior of the world, Jesus of Nazareth,
who never sinned, willingly and lovingly
gives to us grace. He does this even in the
midst of all of our troubles and trials and
self-inflicted woes. In doing so, Jesus
shows us the ideal way in which to
respond to the faults, foibles,
shortcomings, imperfections, and
eccentricities of others. The way of Jesus
is to be kind, loving, forgiving, and
gracious.
We have been given immeasurable,
undeserved grace from the One who has
sacrificed everything. Let us commit to be
a people—people who are united in one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one
God—who in turn offer that same grace to
everyone around us.
–Ricky