Grace is one of those Christian words - "Christianese" - we say it too much, assuming everybody is on our page, and if asked more, we would likely bumble our way through additional Christian cliche's in an effort to explain.
Grace is so gravitas though, that all the trite answers have dethroned it unceremoniously. Grace is superhuman. Grace is wholly unnatural. Grace needs to be wrestled with and lived out. Grace WAS on the cross, but it just wasn't - it IS. It IS for you and me and all Christians to be DOING. And I fail at grace a lot. A lot. Like always. Like these:
Grace is when you were put down or wronged, and you don't bring it up to ANYONE in an effort to preserve the other person.
Grace is when you are given the juicy tidbit and you never repeat it to protect those involved.
Grace is when you can't stand someone and yet you defend them and speak about them as though they are golden.
Grace is when you lay yourself down for somebody who totally doesn't deserve it.
Did you notice how all of those examples require you to not live with an attitude of judgement and self-promotion? Yeah that is why I fail at it all the time. Grace is the end of hypocrisy, and the living out of the Gospel.
It is the 'judge not' part. The love with skin on part.
Grace is so gravitas though, that all the trite answers have dethroned it unceremoniously. Grace is superhuman. Grace is wholly unnatural. Grace needs to be wrestled with and lived out. Grace WAS on the cross, but it just wasn't - it IS. It IS for you and me and all Christians to be DOING. And I fail at grace a lot. A lot. Like always. Like these:
Grace is when you were put down or wronged, and you don't bring it up to ANYONE in an effort to preserve the other person.
Grace is when you are given the juicy tidbit and you never repeat it to protect those involved.
Grace is when you can't stand someone and yet you defend them and speak about them as though they are golden.
Grace is when you lay yourself down for somebody who totally doesn't deserve it.
Did you notice how all of those examples require you to not live with an attitude of judgement and self-promotion? Yeah that is why I fail at it all the time. Grace is the end of hypocrisy, and the living out of the Gospel.
It is the 'judge not' part. The love with skin on part.