Ephesians 2:8-9 For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.
This scripture ties in with yesterday’s sermon that God
saves us through the gift of grace when we have faith in God. A made for TV
movie I watched last night partly centered upon grace extended person to
person. Every time we pray the Lord’s
Prayer together we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us.” Do we take that
seriously? By extending grace to someone
else – forgiveness that can’t be earned – we fulfill the intent of this portion
of the prayer. To extend grace saves us
from bitterness and sin and emotional pain and the illness the poison of hate
and resentment and unforgiveness can cause.
To forgive a drunk driver for harm they may have caused a loved one does
not release them from the penalty they must pay nor from efforts to prevent
them from repeating their actions again.
It does free us and releases them into the hands of higher authorities
including our Lord. I don’t believe in
“forgive and forget.” I think we should
forgive and remember. Remember what we
have forgiven, remember that the person may or may not deserve to be trusted in
the future and remember that one day that person along with ourselves will stand
before God where we each will be held accountable for all of our actions.
Thank you Lord for grace upon grace that you pour out upon
us. Help us to find in ourselves the
ability to extend grace to others. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Have
a great week!Paige
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