The Grace of Who I Am

Romans 3:23,24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I know who I am, and I know my struggles. If I were to list them one by one, they would be embarrassing, ugly and scandalous. In fact many would stop reading now if half my thoughts were revealed.

I don’t write this as a confession or even as a bragging right, but I’m simply stating a fact. The truth is, when we own the sin in our hearts (different from wallowing around in it), we all could state a similar thing. Neither a missionary, a pastor, nor anyone else has achieved a level of sinlessness on this earth. We all struggle day by day in a world decaying from sin. But, praise God, that’s not the end of the story. Without the story of grace, we’re no different than our neighbors, co-workers and friends who don’t know Christ.

Christ’s grueling death on the cross gave us the gift of life, a gift we don’t deserve. We did nothing. With this in mind, this should give us a right perspective when we look at a hurting and dying world. The people around us aren’t worthy to be loved by a holy God, but neither are we. As we reflect on Jesus’ death and resurrection, let’s not forget who we once were, not so we can dwell on our sins, but so others can see the beautiful work God is doing in our lives. It’s all Him! The people we walk among don’t need our piety. When we wear masks⎯in which they see right through⎯it makes us untouchable. They need to see the realness of a sinful woman being transformed daily by a loving Christ. God’s love is for everyone. For all have sinned, we’re one of them, so let’s show them the same grace God showed us.

Dear God, thank you for dying on the cross for my sin and for making me a new creation. When I look at others, help me to understand that they need the same grace you lavish upon me each and every day. Amen.