Ephesians 2:8,9 clearly states that we are saved by grace. Grace is the unmerited favor that our Lord and Savior bestowed upon us, when he saved us from our sinful life. No matter what we had been or done, he was willing to save us. The apostle Paul stated that he was the chiefest of sinners. I Timothy 1:15. Let us consider ourselves as we remember how God saved us. We also need to remember how the Lord has extended grace to us in the times of our discouragement how he lifted us up; in our disobedience as he extended forgiveness to us when we did not deserve it. How he extended grace to us in our times of defeat, to lift us up and strengthen us by his grace. Grace is the power of God extended to those that are wicked, weak, worrisome, and those that are wandering away from his words.
But, oh how we rejoice when God extends his grace to us, even though we have failed him many times, and maybe even disgraced him like Peter did when he cursed and denied the Lord. But the Lord, through grace, forgave Peter and even let him preach that great sermon in Acts 2.
However, we find in II Corinthians 1, another application of grace, we are shown that the strength that God has given to us, we are to share with those who are suffering the same things that we have already been through. Do we comfort those that are suffering like the Lord did for us?
But we also find in II Corinthians 2, a different manifestation of the grace that we received. There was the man that was disciplined from the church, in I Corinthians 5, for committing fornication. But, Paul, based on the man’s repentance, said that forgiveness was to be extended to this man. That is grace flowing through the church. But, Jesus, takes it even to a greater level as he hung on the cross. To those that had mocked, beaten, shamed and crucified them, he said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” This is grace flowing through him to all of those that had harmed him.
This is the real test for us. Are we willing to extend grace to those that harm us, that falsely accuse us, that disgrace us, whose ways offend us? Are we willing to demonstrate grace to those that mistreat us? Are we willing to give grace to those that are different than we are? How do we show this grace? We do it with kindness when they do not deserve it. We allow them to continue to mistreat us by returning the grace that God gave us when we continued to failed him.
God never gave us grace to keep, but to flow through us to the lost around us and to those that are not what we think that they ought to be and that do not show grace to us. LET GRACE FLOW THROUGH YOU.
Pastor Kenneth Cloud