The Picture of Grace

So, let me put forth a question to you, the reader – what would Real World Grace look like to you?

To start out, let’s explore how God showed grace to His people.

The first example; the Lord instructed Noah to go ahead and build an enormous ark. He also told Noah to let everyone know that a massive flood would be coming (He gave them time to prepare) and invited them to join Noah’s family on the boat; (He gave them an avenue to safety). Unfortunately, as the days and years passed, and the people watched Noah building the ark, instead of accepting God’s gracious gift, they mocked Him and, therefore, in the end, they perished (Genesis 6:9–9:17). There are multiple other examples of God being gracious and kind to His people in the Bible.

In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God instructed His servant to find even ten decent people in all the land and He would spare the people of those cities. He could not, so He spared Lot and his family because of the intercession of Lot’s uncle, Abraham (Genesis 18:16–19:29).

In the story of Moses, God extended grace toward the Israelites and even Moses himself multiple times despite their disobedience and rebellion. God could have destroyed them instantly but He continually gave them chances to repent (Exodus 1-40).

Paul wrote in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” When you get discouraged, you always can come back to this verse. Overcome evil with good.

Contrary to what the Bible teaches, people of many generations have sacrificed their lives and their futures for others in selfish acts. We have all seen wicked acts of violence in the name of democracy, religion, and many other reasons. I have seen people take their guns and weapons to kill many only to be convicted or to die at their own hands, and yet, many more destructive acts keep happening. So, as we draw near to the end of the book you may be asking what other crazy ideas do I have to share about Real-World Grace and how would it make the United States and maybe the world, a better place to live? As the world spirals into chaos, we know the world could use less Putin’s and more of Jesus in our lives. Self and self-centeredness have been the dominant part of our culture since at least the 1950s, if not before. It has always been a problem in many people’s lives, but most of us at least know how to show compassion for those considered least in our world.

I hope you can understand that just a little bit of selflessness could go a long way to solve our world’s problems. I put forward the Biblical idea that we could love others no matter their looks, beliefs, or sexual orientations, and we could truly love them. Christ loved all of us. Christ did not hesitate in sharing meals and building relationships with others that the world and the “religious” had cast off. That does not mean He condoned sin, but He came to show that sin could be forgiven. If only we could do this, we would start to achieve an open dialogue of love and show them that Christ wants everyone to know Him, personally. But how can we accomplish that by watering down the Gospel to make it easy for others and saying other religions believe in God too, just in a different way? Hmmm, didn’t Jesus say we can only get to the Father through Himself, as God’s Son? Others may argue that the Bible was written well after Jesus, so how could we believe what it says? Or they may say, He may have been a good man, but the Bible is only a story written by other men. However, many of the chapters of the New Testament were written by first-hand observers of Jesus. And the fulfilled prophecies that were written long before Jesus’ arrival proves it is inspired by the Lord Himself; Jesus is the Truth and the Word.

If we could or would truly believe in Jesus as Christ, and if we believed in His words, what can you imagine would happen? For over 2,000 years people have believed in Him as the only truth and the only way through which we can approach God, as Father. As stated before, the prophecies fulfilled should be enough proof, but even Jesus Himself predicted the fall of the Jewish Temple system and that took place long after His death, resurrection, and ascension, in 70 A.D. From that time on, the sacrificial system could not go on and the Jewish population became scattered.

Could it be, that Jesus was who He said He was, the Son of God, whose mission was to be the ultimate sacrifice for the whole world and that guilt and sin sacrifices were no longer needed? It is something to consider.

Knowing Him in a personal and intimate way might change the thinking of the world. Yes, it is true that many will hear and many will not get this, but for those of you who are willing to accept this truth, you might see a glimpse of Christ in a random act of kindness that causes you to do more this week for others.

No matter where you live – you can try and be kind to everyone you meet. That means also to the guy that cut you off on the highway or almost drove you off the road, rather than road rage, which is the natural response, attempt to show them grace and mercy rather than hatred.

Rather than demonstrating to them what they deserve, show them what Christ would do; forgive them and go on your way.

Another example you may not be involved in; what if we were to give freely to different charities? There are many good and responsible ones who would welcome our help. What about giving some of our time to others, not for our own satisfaction but for their benefit?

Take time throughout the day to talk with God about how things are going, not just with you and your family, but for others you know. Take a moment to pray for someone you may have heard crying or yelling. Pray on the train or in your car or on the bus for peace tonight. Opportunities to share the love are all around us if we only seek it.

Recently my niece’s neighbor took leaves and blew them back on her lawn. She asked what she should do. In my life, I have always believed in killing people with kindness. Many will laugh at these ideas and accuse us of being doormats, just something to wipe their feet on, but if we show kindness to people such as this uncaring neighbor, maybe they will see something they have never seen before, true kindness, or least a clean yard with no leaves on either side of the property line. My father always told me – “kill people with kindness.”  I must tell you, to me, this was a strange thing coming from my dad. He was not very religious, but he sure said a lot of profound things that I still take very seriously today.

If someone is mistreating you – and I am not saying to ‘take the abuse in the name of kindness,’ but what I am saying, is that when someone is having a bad day and taking it out on you, say a prayer for that person. If they have been out of work for a few days, prepare a card that says, “they were missed.” Try showing kindness no matter how they may have treated you in the past. You will see changes in the relationship and you will have an easier time dealing with them in the future. If you are in an abusive situation, however – you always need to get away and stay away from that circumstance. Showing grace and mercy in a volatile situation does not mean you remain in harm’s way. God gives us the wisdom to go along with those gifts.

We build relationships with people first, giving them a desire to be more like what they see in us and have this gift of Christ become something they want or desire, and not be afraid to ask for or about. There are those who think they are not good enough to come to the altar and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Remember, the people of the Bible are perfect examples of messed up lives being used by God, and it was all because they were considered righteous because of their faith in God.

I remember being on the train while living in Virginia and finding opportunities on every ride. God is good and I never once felt threatened or in danger talking to strangers. My experience in Virginia can be an example of anywhere in the country. We can take the opportunity to speak and talk to others. We can find something in common to discuss or show interest in something they are doing to spark conversation. If you are unsure, say a quick prayer and ask for the Holy Spirit’s strength and guidance. He will never fail you.

Try this, for one week, every day, pray for those whom you might be fearful of approaching, asking God to give you the opportunity to strike up a conversation with someone. He will open doors–God will make things happen. If you have the means, pay for someone’s food, or their oil change, buy them a bag or box of groceries. Take the time to be kind to people with shopping carts. So many ways you can show kindness and thus demonstrate Real-World Grace and even some mercy as well.