Grace + God

Here is a thought. Our grace for others is directly correlated with our understanding of God's character. The degree to which we display grace, truth, and love reflects our relationship with Christ. If I have a pharisaical approach to religion and my interactions with others (those I deem as sinful) are condemning, I have a character deficit—a deficit of unconditional divine sacrificial love. It is no wonder that Christ commands us to love our enemies and to do good to those who harm. How we treat our enemies reflects our true nature. Once upon a time, I was an enemy to God. Though I was an enemy, He treated me with grace and unconditional love.

While I still hated God, He chose death so that I could choose life. What manner of love is this that God would love His enemy to death? There is plenty of hate in this world to eclipse the sun ten times over; however, greater love has appeared into our lives—the Son of Righteousness. Because I identify as a Christian, I am now called to carry the rays of His love to my enemies! I am called to show grace and love as a reflection of God's character and my relationship with said character. If I view God as a good and loving Creator, I attune my thoughts and actions to others to be loving and good. How I treat others matters because it measures the condition of my heart. How we treat each other, especially the "others" in our lives, has more to say about us than them. I am so happy that Jesus chose to love us, and I think we can make His heart burst with joy if we carry that love towards our enemies, daily. Now, this is not to say that we don't hold people accountable for the hurtful and evil actions they do. True love keeps others accountable. The love in which God invites us to experience is holistic and diminishes the line between us and them. We are called to love so that the world can see that there exists a good God.