Grace.
It’s one of those words we hear all the time in church. We sing about it. We talk about it. We know we need it. But I wonder if we really understand just how much grace God gives us.
Because God doesn’t give grace a little at a time. He doesn’t measure it out and say, “Okay, that’s enough for today.”
His grace overflows.
Paul tells us in Romans 5:20, “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”
Think about that for a minute. No matter how badly we mess up, God’s grace is greater. No matter how many times we fall short, His grace is still there. There isn’t a mistake too big, a past too messy, or a weakness too great for the grace of God.
And I’m thankful for that, because if we’re being truthful, we all need a whole lot of grace.
Sometimes I think we are much harder on ourselves than God is. We remember things we wish we had done differently. We replay conversations. We think about decisions we regret. And sometimes we carry things around long after God has already forgiven us.
We act as though we have to keep paying for something Jesus has already paid for.
But that’s not grace.
Grace says, “You don’t have to carry that anymore.”
Paul knew something about needing grace. He talks about his “thorn in the flesh” something he desperately wanted God to take away. He prayed about it more than once. But God didn’t remove it.
Instead, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) In other words, “Paul, I may not take this away, but I will give you what you need to walk through it.”
I think sometimes we’re looking for God to change the situation, and God is saying, *“Let My grace carry you through it.” That’s overflow*.
His grace is there when we get it right, and it’s there when we don’t. It’s there when we feel strong, and it’s there when we’re struggling. It meets us right where we are not because we’ve earned it, but simply because that’s who God is.
And here’s something else I love about grace: it shouldn’t stop with us.
If God has given me grace, and He certainly has, then I ought to be willing to give a little grace to somebody else.
Maybe that means forgiving someone who disappointed us. Maybe it means being patient when we’d rather be irritated. Maybe it means not assuming the worst about someone. Maybe it means giving somebody another chance.
And sometimes it simply means remembering that everybody is dealing with something we may know nothing about.
Grace received should become grace given.
When we understand how much grace God has poured into our own lives, it becomes a little easier to stop keeping score with everybody else.
We can forgive more freely. We can be a little kinder. We can be a little more patient.
And we can leave room for God to work inother people the same way He is still working in us.
That’s what living in the overflow of grace looks like.
We don’t have to live weighed down by yesterday. We don’t have to be defined by our mistakes. And we certainly don’t have to walk around carrying shame that Jesus already carried to the cross.
We can live differently because of grace.
And maybe today, the overflow God wants from us is really simple:
Give someone else a little of the grace He has given you.
Be kind. Forgive. Encourage. Give someone the benefit of the doubt.
And wherever you go today…
Shine, Shine, Shine!