What Does It Mean to Give and Receive Grace?
—Grace & Truth Linkup
It started as just a little tiff Wednesday night.
Jeff took out the kitchen garbage. When he came back in, he walked right past the trash can without putting in a new bag.
I asked if he could put in a new bag. He said he already was going to. I said it looked like he wasn’t. He said he always does; why wouldn’t he this time? I said we disagree on that; I usually have to do it.
And so it goes.
Have you participated in these conversations, too?
Where is the grace?
Nowhere to be seen.
We didn’t go on too long. Neither of us were in the mood for it. We didn’t have enough fight in us. We were tired.
We moved on. We knew it was silly.
We let it go. It was the right thing to do this time.
There is the grace. For both of us.
Giving grace doesn’t always come naturally to us. Receiving grace doesn’t always come naturally either; we don’t want to feel indebted to the grace giver.
But the best way to live life is to give and receive grace freely. Daily. To any and all who come our way.
As God gives grace to me for all the ways I mess up, I should have a huge stockpile by now to pass along to others, including to my sweet husband Jeff, who did put a new trash bag in the trash can (and will probably never forget again).
Featured Post
Amy linked last week about the Polish priest, Maximilian Kolbe, and the greatest gift of grace that he gave a fellow prisoner in an Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.
Read all of Amy’s post here, then link your own post below.
“AS ONE WHO HAS RECEIVED GRACE, AM I LIVING A LIFE OF GRACE?”
Have you received a gift of grace lately? Given any grace? Share your thoughts in the comments.
1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.
2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.
3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).
We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.
MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Now Let’s Link Up!
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter- Camera On or Off? How to Bear Witness
- Why Fiction and Nonfiction Books Are More Alike Than You Think
Oddly, I manage to take grace for the big things so much more easily than those dumb, picky, trash-bag things…
I so appreciate your honest humility!
Lisa, I have to admit … I thought I was the only one who gets annoyed when someone does not put a new bag in the trash can. How I would have liked to think that this was silly but alas, it’s those stupid little things that often trip us up. Thank you for the reminder to offer grace in huge doses today!
UGH, Lisa, this scene happens more in my home than I wold like. My husband called me out on it the other day. He said I have more grace for others than I do for him. In the moment I denied it, but the truth burrowed into my heart. Where is the grace indeed? Great reminder today Lisa!
Oh G-d yes. And if you don’t say or do something — :leaving the new bin bag in a prominent position: — it’s worse — seething, fermenting resentment. Stand stories like this against those of Bonhoeffer or Kolbe … so far am I from modelling Christ.
Ironically, I’m sure many of us would act like Kolbe did. Somehow it’s easier to lay down one’s life for a neighbour than to do the dishes when it is not one’s turn.
My tendency is not to say anything, but then to seethe in silent resentment–which is just as much a lack of grace. We’ve received so much, we should be able to give grace out of the vast store God has given to us.