Grace for Grace
The blog is written by Barbara Westberg
Part 3 in a series of 3
“And of his fulness have we all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16).
We were pastoring a small church in a small town when some disgruntled folks started spreading lies about the church and us.
Frustrated and not a little angry, I took the problem to God. “Lord, they are bad-mouthing Your church. Shut their mouths! You know . . . ”
Tap. Tap. A gentle tap on my spirit shut my mouth. Matthew 5:44 flashed across the screen of my mind. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
I protested, “But, Lord, I—”
Tap. Tap. “I did.”
“You did?” Flash. A picture of Calvary crossed my mind. I wept. “Oh yes, You did. You would
never ask me to do something that You have not done, would You?” I realized at that moment
that I needed a big dose of grace—God’s grace. Only as I received grace would I be able to
dispense grace.
Reluctantly, I started praying for the disgruntled folks. So, did they change? I really can’t say.
I do know that the issue became a non-issue.
What made the difference? Grace. When I, although grudgingly, extended to them grace by
praying for them, blessing them, even speaking gracious words about them, I changed. They
probably never knew that I prayed for them, but I knew, and God knew.
Grace is defined as “God’s unmerited favor,” and so it is. But to me it is more. It is “the strength to do graciously what is right.” The apostle Paul explained the power of grace when he wrote, “And he [God] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weaknesses” (II Corinthians 12:9).
Paul constantly struggled with a thorn in his flesh, but he knew that when he was his weakest, God’s grace was sufficient.
Have you ever prayed or even blurted out, “Lord, give me grace”? Grace to deal with this situation, grace to understand this person, grace to glory in my infirmity? Never fear. God’s grace is enough. All we have to do is receive it, then dispense it.
We as recipients of grace are to be dispensers of it. When we selfishly grasp grace and refuse to dispense it, we suffer. In the parable of “The Machine in the Middle,” that message rang clear. Barnabas lived that truth when he extended grace to Saul a terrorist and John Mark a quitter.
Never fear to extend grace.
Grace received. Grace dispersed. Grace sufficient. Grace for grace.
Call to Action:
Are you struggling to extend grace to a person or even to yourself? What points in Matthew 5:44 do you need to apply to that situation?
Think of a time when someone extended grace to you in a difficult situation. Have you ever thanked that person? Today would be a good time to write that note.