Setting a Christian example. Always strive to have Grace and Forgiveness toward others.

The word grace means so much to me. When I speak it I think of a Divine love. And in a person, someone who is merciful, forgiving, generous and full of goodwill. Having grace in our hearts brings us closer to God and closer to the type of Christian He wants us to be.

Many times I have forgotten to show others grace for which I am deeply ashamed. I was weak and broken (still am in many ways). When someone would speak poorly of me, lived an un-Christian lifestyle or hurt those I loved I would not show mercy, forgive or treat that person with goodwill. Instead I would hold on to anger and resentment, falling farther from God and His plan for me. I was only hurting myself and my heart more than the people or things I was upset toward. I thank God for showing me His grace by forgiving me for those transgressions even when I didn't deserve it and healing me so that I may now understand grace.

Discovering this has brought such a peace into my life. I have less anger, strife and it has lead me to a desire for knowledge about peoples' motives and reasons for acting in those ways. Through this understanding and knowledge you realize that most of the time it isn't about you. People have bad days, have been hurt in their lives and can lash out at those around them. I still struggle with this when my life isn't going as good as I would hope. Now I try to stop, take time and to remember to show grace and to forgive. Prayer always helps.

When in return we Christians love those people as we love ourselves and show grace we can allow them to see that there is good in this world. As Christians we have a duty to do this! Please do not profess to be a Christian while showing anger, judgment, hatred or worse toward others. We are behaving just as badly when we show our neighbors anything other than love, mercy and grace. We need to set the example.

There is a Ghandi quote that says, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." It's pretty blunt and to the point in it's meaning that Christians (or those he has encountered) are not living in Christ-like ways. We are not perfect, we are weak and we all sin but we should strive to the best of our ability to live as Christians. It hurt my heart the other day to see a vehicle with a Christian sticker on the back of it literally cut off several cars and tailgate so closely to the people in front of him it could have turned ugly if there was a slam of brakes and saw hit yelling and hitting the steering wheel. I am sure he was late for something very important and he does still deserve our grace. I immediately prayed for him and the cars around him that they would make it safely to their destinations.

I wake up each morning and pray to God to have grace and forgiveness in my heart. It helps me remember to do so and act toward others accordingly. God gives us grace when we don't deserve it and I hope that you to do the same. Remember what example you are setting as a Christian.

Created about 2 years ago