<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are gifts from God arranged by infinite wisdom, notes that make up the scores of creation\u2019s loftiest symphony, threads that compose the master tapestry of the universe\u201d (A. W. Tozer).<\/p>\n
WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR LIVES OBJECTIVELY, WE SEE MANY EVIDENCES OF GRACE. Some may be small and others large, but the ways in which we\u2019ve been blessed by somebody else\u2019s good favor are numerous. We all \u2014 without exception \u2014 have been the recipients of far more goodness than our own merits have earned. Of the many threads that have been woven together in these lives that we call our own, many of them wouldn\u2019t be there if it weren\u2019t for grace.<\/p>\n
The frequency with which grace has entered our lives ought to be a reminder that we\u2019re not alone in life. None of us is independent, and none of us would have gotten far if other people hadn\u2019t been gracious to us. Living in the real world requires helping and being helped, and it\u2019s good to have that fact called to our attention.<\/p>\n
On our part, there\u2019s certainly a need for us to extend more grace to those we come in contact with. If we lean heavily in the direction of justice, granting to others nothing beyond what they deserve, a time will come when we get no more than what we deserve. And if we have a keen interest in correctness, making sure everybody we know is getting everything exactly right, we may be earning an advanced degree in hypocrisy, since we\u2019ve often failed to get things right ourselves. How much better it would be if we seasoned our demands for justice and correctness with a heaping measure of grace. It may be hard to know how much grace to extend in some situations, but our first instinct ought to be to show as much as possible.<\/p>\n
But how can we grow in the quality of grace? The key, I think, is learning to be more grateful.<\/em> Those who are the least forgiving are usually out of touch with how much they\u2019ve been forgiven. So we need to see our own situations more truthfully \u2014 and then give thanks for the grace that\u2019s been granted to us. And if we don\u2019t see much evidence of grace in our lives, we need to start looking at all the \u201clittle\u201d ways our families and friends show us kindness every day.<\/p>\n Surely great grace yet may go Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n
With a little gift: all\u2019s dear that comes from friends.
(Theocritus)<\/p>\n