A little over a month ago (I’m actually writing this in mid-March, but I’ve got quite a backlogue of devos so it’ll be late April before this publishes), one Sunday evening, I was visiting the Robinson & Center congregation in Conway, and I sat in a class taught by Joshua Joiner. He was introducing the Gospel of John, going over the themes of the book and how it differs from Matthew-Luke. It was a really good class, so of course, I heard things that got me thinking (as a good class ought).
Toward the end of the study, Joshua talked about Grace, and how we sometimes find it easier to give Grace to some than we do others. He mentioned that it’s sometimes harder to give Grace to those we are closest to, and for a minute there, I furrowed my brow and slightly shook my head, not agreeing with his idea. After all, how can it be hard to give Grace to those we’re close to? We know those people. We have familial affection for them. We’ve been through tough times with them. If anyone should be an easy recipient of our Grace, it should be them, right?
Then it hit me: Why would I need to give Grace in the first place? You give Grace to someone who has wronged you. So who might wrong me that I would have a hard time getting over? I can encounter a total stranger who does something that hurts me, and then, within an hour or two (at most), I’ve probably moved on with my life. I’ll never see that person again, very likely. There’s no reason to stew over someone cutting me off in traffic, or being rude to me at a fast food joint. Who cares?
But if a loved one hurts me… I’m going to see the face of that loved one on and off for the rest of my life, maybe. I’m going to sit beside them at functions. I’m going to be in a room with them while they’re talking to someone loud enough for me to hear. I’m going to be around them, and if I don’t get over the hurt, I’m going to stay hurt for a long time, and it will eat away at me.
The solution, therefore, should be obvious: Give Grace. The problem is, this isn’t just some stranger we’re talking about. This is my ___________ (friend, brother, sister, parent, mentor, etc). This is someone close to me. They hurt me, and that means it hurt worse than if some stranger had hurt me. Getting over that isn’t so easy.
Giving Grace, therefore, isn’t always so easy.
Thus, it is with amazement that we reflect on the Grace of Jesus Christ. We need to give Grace to family members that hurt us, even though, because they are family, it might be harder than otherwise. Now consider Jesus, who not only gave Grace to us, but did so in order to MAKE us family. He knew what we were before we were His, and still He wanted us close by. When we were strangers who hurt Him, He loved us enough to save us and keep us close by, despite hurting him.
That’s amazing. That’s Grace. That’s what we need to give.
~Matthew