“Graciousness” is a rare and powerful quality which Webster’s Dictionary defines as, “quick to forgive offenses or impart unmerited blessings.” Jesus said that our manifestation of graciousness is proof we belong to His family. In other words, it’s proof we have received His gift of salvation AND He lives within us. He said:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By THIS ALL will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35
If Jesus lives IN us, the graciousness of His love is manifested THROUGH us.
This is a sobering thought, isn’t it? It makes me ponder whether my life is truly manifesting the presence of God. Am I freely giving grace to those who don’t deserve it? God’s brand of grace goes far beyond giving grace to those within the realm of our natural affection. Ah, yes—of course it does—because it represents the presence of the supernatural love of God within us. My friend, this is impossible—without Him!
In fact, Jesus explained that when we are selfless to those who cannot repay us, we are manifesting our love for HIM:
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’”
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’”
“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
Matthew 25:34-40
When we graciously give without expectation, we experience the flow of love—FROM Christ—TO Christ. We are simply the conduit. This cyclical experience is powerful and remarkable because it is supernatural and has very little to do with us. We simply open the valve to God’s Spirit and He enables us to do the impossible. Without Christ, we have no energy to give to those who cannot give back to us. This applies doubly for those who are ugly to us. God gives us life and His Spirit empowers us to give, give, give—because we have all we need in HIM. As we draw closer to Him, we see even more of His grace towards us and this humbling realization multiplies our own grace towards others.
You see, God’s grace doesn’t end when we accept His gift of salvation…that’s just the beginning. When we are born again, His grace secures the eternal life of our soul and spirit; but our enemies are constantly on the prowl to steal the joy of grace from us while we walk on this earth. If we want to FULLY enjoy the grace God has given us, we must DAILY commit to allow His Spirit to control our life AND renew our mind in His Word!
My friend, “the Lord WAITS to be gracious to you.” (Isaiah 30:18a)
When we draw close to GOD, His POWERFUL graciousness flows TO us AND FROM us—and this is a cycle you don’t want to miss!
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We must be willing vessels to experience the full blessings of God .