But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
Freely we have received grace, freely we are to give it. God’s grace to us is both unmerited and undeserved – hence it is grace. And it is also grace without grudge – being both forgiving and life giving. God desires for His children to be a remarkable means of grace to others – a conduit through which His grace freely flows. His grace is sufficient for everything we pass through on our journey to heaven – everything – taking us “from strength to strength” even as we pass through our “Valleys of Baca’s” (tears). Further, He desires for us to pour out this grace towards others, manifesting His love and power to those in our spheres. There is nothing more attractive and wooing than the unearned, unmerited favor of Biblical grace and when bestowed by His children through His power it continues to demonstrate the beauty of the Gospel over and over again.
Grace is easy to receive but more difficult to give, Amen? We are all in need of it and for us to be stingy with it towards others stymies God’s good and pleasing work in our lives. We don’t want to go there. Train your eyes to look for effects of grace in a life rather than transgressions. It is uber easy to pick at people yet as we are the recipients of God’s grace we are also to be the bestower. We are never more like Jesus than when we are.
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)