Have you ever thought you knew better than the person warning you that what you were contemplating would lead to big trouble? This struggle between flesh and God’s spirit within us is common to us all. I will never forget the day that this principle was lived out in technicolor in my sixth-grade classroom. New carpeting had been installed over the weekend and I had everyone swear an oath to do their best to not spill anything on it. The oath didn’t last long. One young lady offered to bring in cups of tempera paint from an art project out in the courtyard. I warned her to bring in only a few at a time, but rain was falling, so she tried to bring 26 cups in at once. She didn’t make it far before catching a toe on the leg of a desk, launching all those paint-filled cups into the air. I heard an audible gasp as paint fell on the children, on their desks, and on that beautiful new carpeting. Everyone looked at my poor helper and then at me in total silence, waiting for the doom they knew was coming.
I sent up a quick prayer for self-control then found myself laughing and shaking my head at the mess. I realized I had a very colorful teachable moment, so I put my arms around my hopelessly guilty helper and asked the class if they knew about “grace.”
I explained to them that I was going to give grace to this speckled and dripping child standing before me, but that she did not deserve it. I was not only going to forgive her, but I was also going to love her and help her to learn and grow for the rest of the year. I was going to be in her corner, no matter what other challenges and struggles came her way. Then I explained that everyone else was going to give her grace by not teasing her and by helping her scrub the carpet. That day, my little helper gave me her heart.
Despite our best efforts, a faint stain remained, so we named it “The Room 76 Memorial Stain.” I invited my students to visit it in the years to come and remember the day that grace came to our classroom. They came and they laughed and they remembered! My little helper, who received that grace, grew up to be a nurse in another city who then lovingly cared for a dear friend after surgery. Grace given became grace shared.
What about you? Do you have some technicolor stains in your life? Have you come to the place that you can only stand silent in speechless guilt because the evidence of a broken law is all around you? Do you need God’s undeserved favor that covers so much more than just your need for forgiveness? Do you need help to grow and to be transformed so that you are less likely to stumble in the future? Then you are a candidate for God’s endless, unfathomable, unsearchable, ocean of grace.
God’s grace for you goes on an on, meeting your need for forgiveness, growth, fruit, obedience, victory, wisdom, relationship skills, problem-solving, and loving the way that Jesus loves. Peter, soon discovered that he had a great deal to learn about grace, even after receiving it. That is why he wrote in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He spent a lifetime discovering the many facets of grace, and we must do the same.
What about you? What parts of you are available to God’s grace? Are the stains in your life a source of guilt or a testament to God’s desire to forgive you, grow you, teach you, and unleash you to do good in this hurting world? Because of the work of Jesus on the cross, God wants to meet you with love, not condemnation, a fact that can free you from guilt and shame if you believe Him.
Prayer
Abba, please show me the parts of my life that are not yet available to your grace. Show me where I am trying to clean myself up without You. Please give me grace to learn more about Your grace. Amen.
For Further Study:
John 1:14-17; Romans 3:24; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Galatians 2:21; 2 Timothy 1:9
Grow Anyway 