something about grace…

i’m currently working quite a few books right now. i guess i get pretty ADD when it comes to keeping up with ONE book. but anyway, i’ve been reading “what’s so amazing about grace?” and some things just kinda hit me.

“forgiveness is ac act of faith. by forgiving another, i am trusting that God is a better judstice-maker than i am. by forgiving, i release my own right to get even and leave all issues of fairness for God to work out. I leave in God’s hands the scales that must balance justice and mercy”

what a good idea! i think the amount of love that God has allows Him to fully be just, whereas in our human nature, our lack of love takes over in most of these justice seeking situations. there’s always that nagging voice about, what about those people that take advantage of grace? but you can’t deny those stories of people who’ve been transformed by grace, who they themselves go on to become gracious to others. brute force will cause someone to physically submit, but grace can change the heart.

“When Joseph finally came to the place of forgiving his brothers, the hurt did not disappear, but the burden of being their judge fell away. Though wrong does not disappear when I forgive, it loses its grip on me and is taken over by God, who knows what to do.”

instead, we seek out God to heal the wounds that others have inflicted on us. revenge doesn’t heal, it triggers more revenge.

i think i still have yet to learn to receive this grace. despite being a Christian for so long, i still find myself trying to exercise judgment on myself, feeling like one confession wasn’t enough. but yet it is true, even though it seems too good to be true. only when i’ve overcome that mindset then i think i’d be able to be fully gracious to others.