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| "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20-21 ESV |
Recently my sin was exposed big time (and I mean big time because sin is serious business). I was upset with my mom because in the process of getting ready for the day, she wanted me to help her find something. The night before I stayed up really late rearranging the furniture in my room even though I knew I had a family commitment the next day. Due to this, I slept in so I didn't have as much time to get ready as I would have liked. I became upset when my mom wanted to leave the house at a certain time because she had taken up some of my time. She still wanted to leave on time and I was frustrated because I didn't have as much time to do my hair as I wanted (because we all know it makes sense to straighten your naturally curly hair when you are going to the beach).
I thought to myself, "Where's the grace?!" A few seconds later I was deeply convicted when, by God's grace, I thought , "Maybe you shouldn't be concerned with how much grace you are given but with how much grace you are giving."
Wow. One of my New Years resolutions is to fall more in love with Jesus and while being confronted with your own sin is painful and ugly, it also provides the opportunity to focus on Christ who has given us more grace than we could possibly imagine and we can do absolutely nothing to earn it. I was sad for a while after being so vain, selfish and ungracious but what I am slowly learning to do is live in light of God's grace, which is the only way I can function. Instead of being so hard on myself when I sin and just thinking about myself and how I should improve, I can think about Christ on the cross and how he loved me so much that He has already taken the punishment for every sin I have committed and will commit. As you go through this new year and for some of you, what may be a new season of life, I encourage you to think about what your life would be like if God in His grace did not save you. Some of you may be currently living a life that has not been surrendered to Him and I would ask you to consider what your life looks like now and how it might look if you repented of your sin and trusted in Jesus.
Living in light of God's grace allows us to be more free than we could possibly imagine, but so many of us (myself included) become consumed with the cultural lie that we need to "better ourselves". Any change for the better can only truly be accomplished by Christ, and that my dear friends is what amazing grace is all about. Happy grace giving.
Love,
Lolo
