Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Grace, part 2


What does grace look like when there is no acknowledgment of wrong, no admission nor repentance?
Do you have relationships (or offenses from the past) that reflect this reality?

Ephesians 4:32 gives insight.


Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
We are to forgive as God forgives.

But how does God relate to those who do not acknowledge their offense?
Some thoughts:

1. He loves the offender, while he is wicked, still an enemy of Himself.

2. He extends common grace (benevolent circumstances and favor) to those who haven’t yet accepted his offer of salvation.

3. He leans with a posture toward reconciliation and forgiveness, with no bitterness or “holding it over” the offender.  He extends the gentle invitation to reconciliation, even though the love is clearly undeserved.

4. Motivated by selfless love, He initiates the offer of forgiveness and pursues the offender, even though this comes at great cost (his life), and some will never seek his merciful pardon.

5. His grace never minimizes the injustice of the offense, nor eliminates the consequences of the wrong. Instead the weight of these is taken on, and is fully borne,  by Himself.

To translate that into our lives, in the hard, painful, unfair situations of our suffering,  it is….well, impossible.
Apart from God’s enabling power, that is.
(And there may be caveats of wisdom to consider in the individual situations of wrongs and offense.)

But to the degree that I image God’s forgiveness, I image God, speak His message, display His grace.

The same grace He showed (and continues to shower upon) me.




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