Grace and Forgiveness-Walk Hand in Hand Together

Grace, sheer and simple grace, I struggle so much to find a pattern where there’s an overwhelming flood of grace. The hardest time to exhibit grace is when you don’t want to let go of the offense that has been bestowed on you. Oh how hard it is to not only find grace to forgive, but understand why we must give grace. It is not that we give grace to receive it, but rather so that the offender does not continue to control you. The offender, you see, keeps power over you, until you consciously lend grace upon the situation.

            It is amazing to me how grace and forgiveness goes hand and hand. Grace is the beginning step to forgiveness. Forgiveness leads to healing. This process is not for the offender, but rather the victim. This is how the Lord intended our spiritual walk to be. This has especially tormented me recently, in the case that I feel contempt, which is the language of hatred, for a certain person. Trying my hardest I cannot seem to locate the source of this contempt. Over years and decades of life together, there has been many things that I could have held on to more than this. Why now, am I torchered by this?

            I have boiled it down to the fact that I am having a horrible time of trying to release the grace, which in turn produces forgiveness. This process then gives closer to the situation. I believe, in this area God is trying to teach me that it is easy to allot a certain amount of grace to those who really have not wronged us in a major way, but rather it is much more difficult to allow that grace to reach those who have offended to a much greater extent.

2 Corinthians 7:8- But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this giving of grace.

Colossians 3:13- Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

            It is not so easy, much more so said than done. I am challenging myself to be able to give this issue, malice, contempt, anger, hurt, whatever it may be up to God. It will not be easy, I am sure, but in the end hopefully I will be stronger for it. I am also in hopes that it will draw me closer to Him.