Instruments

What do we mean when we refer to the term ‘grace’?

Looking into several reference books and dictionaries to see what descriptive terms were used for the word ‘grace’ I found some terms listed…tact, mercy, decency, favor, virtue merit, pardon, enhance, clemency, God’s love, lenience, God’s favor and God’s goodness.

We often speak about God’s grace and mercy. After reading the ‘definitions’, I found myself rethinking just what we mean when we speak about ‘grace’. We
do use the term often when we speak about the good things that happen in our lives.

But the question that if a storm or flood damaged the neighbor’s house and not ours, would we regard that as God’s grace and if so ‘why us and not the neighbor’.

Sometimes when good things occur, we do feel blessed and view it as God’s grace but those feelings are sometimes followed by the question, “why?” What could we have done that deserved this blessing when so many others are suffering?

Well…I wish I could give you an answer, but I find myself mulling over this question time and again, and I must admit, “I just don’t know.” If something really good happens in our lives and we feel so blessed with God’s grace, does it then inspire us to help others? We have been given grace, do we bestow grace upon someone else? Do we provide assistance to another in time of need because we believe that God’s grace provided someone to help us when we were in need?”

If that is part of our motivation to do good, how then would those in so many areas of our country and our world who are in need and suffering know ‘grace’?

Is it only experienced when something good happens in our lives?

Do our acts of loving kindness motivate others to follows suit? If we feel blessed by God’s grace, are we inclined to pass it on to others and by so doing, will God’s grace continue to grow and expand?

Would we consider that our lives do bless others and, if so, could we be instruments to spread God’s grace in our world?

I’ve concluded that you and I can bring God closer to others when we become the instruments that grace the lives of others. Wouldn’t you agree?