Tag: Forgiveness

Grace

We can all use a little grace in our lives. Grace towards each other and towards ourselves.

What does grace even mean?

It can mean approval, mercy, favor, benevolence, or goodwill.

Grace can come from God, another person, or yourself.

It means to believe in the person even if they have done wrong.

“It is man’s peculiar duty to love even those who wrong him.“ — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 7.22

God’s grace is given freely.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9, Daily Verse

We don’t have to ask God for grace. It is just given

“Grace doesn’t ask you to fix yourself first. It meets you exactly where the fixing hasn’t happened yet.” – Daily Verse

We should learn from this example. Grace should be given freely to those around us who make mistakes.

Giving grace can be easier said than done, especially if someone has really hurt us or we have really hurt someone else.

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” -Hebrews 12:15, The 5-Minute Bible Study for Difficult Times.

Bitterness towards ourselves or others can grow if we do not allow for grace in our lives.

As with many things it is often much easier to give someone else grace than it is to give it to ourselves, especially when we have made a mistake.

We are all harder on ourselves than we would ever be with other people in our lives.

We deserve grace for our mistakes as much as we give grace to those around us.

Grace does not mean we ignore the mistake. We need to learn from our mistakes.

However once we have learned our lesson. We need to put the stick down and stop beating ourselves up for the mistake.

Again easier said than done.

Justice or Forgiveness

Do you believe in justice or forgiveness?

I believe in both.

But I think justice needs to be defined first.

Justice requires us to do the right thing, even when it is hard and unpopular.

Justice also means doing the most good for the most people.

Without justice, there would be lawlessness.

After justice, there must be forgiveness.

Forgiveness is for both people, the wrongdoer and the wronged.

Hate and revenge are heavy burdens to bear.

“Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.” – Nelson Mandela

Forgiveness allows a person to let go of their hate and need for revenge and unburden themselves.

Now that sounds great, but it is easier said than done.

You don’t have to forget what happened to forgive.

Forgiveness allows you to let go of what happened and move on in positive direction.

Some things are hard to forgive, but we have to try so that we can be free.

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” – Paul Boose