Whatever happened to grace?
Not God’s grace for us. That’s more sure than tomorrow’s sunrise.
But what about giving grace to others? Assuming the best of them instead of the worst? Giving people – especially fellow believers – the benefit of the doubt?
It seems like we’re growing more polarized every day, not more grace-filled.
When we tell people God loves them, ‘but’ they’re sinners, what they hear is ‘God will only love me if I get my act together.’
Yes, we are sinners. That reality should never be ignored or underplayed. But qualifying every statement about love and grace with a ‘yeah, but’ about sin is like interrupting a team’s victory parade to remind everyone that they lost some games during the season, too.
Sometimes grace needs to take an uninterrupted victory lap through our lives.
Let’s Stop Stop Adding ‘Yeah, But’ to Simple Declarations of Grace Read More »
The more you speak or write, the more mistakes you’ll make. It’s unavoidable. Those who put their opinions out for public consumption in blogs, books, sermons, etc., take on a huge risk, because their mistakes will be amplified by the amount of information they’re putting out and by the size of the audience.
Unfortunately, there are many of us – and way too many in the Christian community – looking for people to trip up. Instead of giving people the benefit of the doubt, they’re very quick to pounce on any misstatement (real or perceived) as the judge, jury and executioner.
But we can’t just nod and smile at untrue, unkind or unChristian statements, either. We need to practice reasonable judgment about what people say and write. Sometimes those statements need to be challenged, lovingly, but firmly.
As always, Jesus said it best. We need to, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” But how do we do that? As Christians and as consumers of content, how do we balance wise discernment with forgiveness and grace?
The 10% Grace Rule: Judging Without Being Judgmental Read More »
