that's grace...

GRACE.

Grace is an act of kindness, mercy and favor that is given though it is undeserved.

Max Lucado says it best…

“Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, ‘I can clean that if you want.’ And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes away our sin.”  

The line that I highlighted and underlined multiple times in that is “I can clean that if you want.” That’s what I talked about last week. Are we willing to accept this grace that God has to offer us? Are we willing to let Him wash away our sin?

This gift of grace is God’s way of showing us just how deep and unconditional His love is for us. No matter where we are at in our lives, no matter how far we are away from Him, (even when He is nonexistent in our lives as far as we are concerned), no matter how badly your life may be messed up, God is still there and He loves you the same. That is grace.

There are no amounts of “good things” that you can do or have to do to earn this grace…it is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8) There is no list you have to be on. There is no amount of money you have to have. There is no certain level of job you have to have.  There is no “accepted” or “denied” status. You just have to be willing to receive it.

The truth is nobody needs grace more or less than anybody else.

And this is a good time to transition to this week’s message which ultimately can be wrapped up in the following sentence:

Every person that you meet, they are in God’s eyes, worthy of Jesus dying on the cross.

Before you continue reading, read that last sentence as many times as it takes for that to really sink in. And when you have done so, you can continue reading! :)

With this truth in mind, I pray that it would alter the way we look at the people we see every single day. The way we treat them, the way we interact with them, the way we love them.

Let's start looking through the eyes of God, seeing people the way He sees them. Seeing ourselves the way He sees us. 

I will leave you with a song. It's called "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath.

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing.

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the brokenhearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach.

Give me your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see.

So give me a second chance

To see the way you see the people all along.

4th of July 2013