Grace has been defined in many different ways. When we talk about God’s grace we think of His giving us His Son for our salvation. We hear prayer referred to as grace. I think the best definition for grace is God’s unmerited favor! It’s truly God giving us what we don’t deserve. We deserved the punishment of Hell, but God graciously bestowed on us the gift of His Son. With our salvation comes living grace for strength, trials and peace. As we possess it, we are to share it from the inside out!
Knowing about God’s grace causes us to seek to know just how to show grace to others. When we allow the grace of Jesus to shine through us to others, they will be drawn to Him. As the Bible says, it is the good of God that leads people to repentance. Every day, as I am reminded of the debt I owe to our precious Lord, it motivates me to want to share His grace with others.
While I can’t offer salvation to another person from myself, I can be kind and gracious to them and this will point them to the Savior. Showing grace to others is a matter of dealing kindly with them, even if they don’t deserve it.
Colossians 4:6 says,
“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
How do we do this? How do I live and speak so that other would see the saving grace of God I possess?
INSIDE OUT GRACE
Showing God’s Grace In Everyday Life
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Watch Your Mouth – Show Grace With Words
When speaking with people you should use words that are kind and gentle. Obviously there are times we need to correct other people, but it never has to be done in a hateful or mean-spirited way. Find a way to gently say what needs to be said.
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Respond With Grace
Have you been criticized by someone? Even unjustly? You don’t have to let others walk over you, but you can respond in a gracious way. Accept what they have to say and thank them for their input. The news they bring you may upset you and hurt you deeply. The way you respond can help the healing begin immediately. A quick response with anger will leave you seething. But the sooner you can respond with a smile and a calm spirit the sooner you will be able to see the truth in their words and make the changes that need to be made.
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Use Graceful Speech
Beyond using gentle words with those around you, be careful how you express yourself. Do you have some words in your vocabulary that shouldn’t be there? There may be some words you say that aren’t really “bad” words, but the way you say them express the same feelings as your co-worker’s curse words. Be careful with substitute curse words. Even if you aren’t saying the same thing, you mean exactly the same emotions as others who use the real words. Grace-filled speech contradicts gossip, criticism, racism and negative responses!
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Express Gratitude To Show Grace To Others
Take time to say “thank you.” It doesn’t cost anything, but it can show other people gratitude and grace. Write a simple card expressing your appreciation for a kind act on your behalf. You can make a difference by putting a “thank you” on your lips and a card in someone’s hand.
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Graceful Presence
Take opportunities to be with someone in a time of grief. They don’t need you to deliver some special speech or do anything grand for them and the family. Your presence may be all that is needed to show you love them.
Funerals and hospital stays are times when you can make a quick visit that will leave an impact in someone’s life. You don’t have to spend hours with them, but they do want to know you care and that you are thinking of them. Even if it is just a 10 minute visit, stopping by to say hello can mean the world to them in their time of physical or emotional pain.
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Forgive With Grace
When someone asks forgiveness, accept their apology graciously. They have come to you humbly asking for your pardon. That is not a time to tell them why they should have done so much sooner. Nor is it an appropriate time to correct them and tell them how they could have handled the situation better. If you are in a teaching or authoritative position over the person and you need to give them advice that will help them in the future, separate your advice from your forgiveness. Allow them to see you have accepted their apology and then later share with them the correction and direction they need.
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Apologize With Grace
When you make a mistake, swallow your pride and ask for forgiveness. Maybe they wronged you in some way but you responded inappropriately. You can ask them to forgive you for your response. Remember grace is giving to the other person what they don’t deserve. Even if, in your opinion, they don’t deserve an apology, you can ask their forgiveness for your wrong response.
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Share Your Grace!
When was the last time you shared your faith with anyone else?
Be a grace filled person of faith so that when your “overflow” onto others – or when your human vessel of clay gets stressed or damaged – Jesus shines through to those around you!
What a wonderful article on Grace 🌸 This is something I tend to struggle with. I’m glad I can not only save this to re-read, but I can share this with others! Everyone should read this article 😊
I am sharing this article. Thank you.