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At this point in our Journey I think it’s
safe to assume that grace is critical to
compassion {to entering the sufferings of
others so that a healing word of affirmation
might be offered, a tender touch from soul
to soul}. Grace is critical to compassion,
and compassion is essential to forgiveness.
For a disciple of Jesus Christ grace is the
‘watchword’ of our ministries, the ‘realm’
in which we stand, and the ‘way’ in which we
walk {it is the single most defining
characteristic of our lives}.
Understand this: The healing of our heart
begins with the experience of grace.
Most of those who experience the grace of God at all do so in
four realms of relationship with the Father
of Heaven and Earth. I came up with a
simple saying to communicate this thought:
‘Grace Comes from P.A.P.A.’ …Grace Comes
from PAPA. We experience grace:
1. As ‘pardon.’ We
are forgiven for the wrongs we’ve done, for
the sins we’ve committed, for the havoc
we’ve wreaked in other’s lives and in our
own… gratuitous forgiveness for everything we’ve ever done— Acts 15:11;
Romans 3:24; and Ephesians 1:7 where Paul
say’s, “in Him we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses according to the riches of
His grace.” Grace as pardon is the
solution to guilt.
2. As ‘acceptance.’
The acceptance of our heavenly Father is
unconditional {remember the truest thing
about your life is who you are in Christ!}.
His acceptance renders powerless our
paralyzing fear of rejection, very simply:
it no longer holds sway over our hearts.
“In the Beloved” {Eph. 1:6} we are
united intimately and eternally with our
true Savior and our true self: our true
self, the real you, is the man or woman God
had perfectly in mind when He created you.
Now we know how it feels to be accepted,
to be affirmed, to be loved…
held silently and lovingly against the chest
of the Great Rabbi, Jesus Christ, and to
hear His heart beat just for us. Grace
as acceptance is the solution to shame.
3. As ‘power.’ In 2
Corinthians 12:9 our Lord said, “My grace
is a source of unfailing strength… for power
is perfected in weakness….” Grace lifts
the heavy load of shame from our souls and
shatters our misperceptions about who we are
and what we’re capable of becoming. In
the lightness of grace we can become what we
were meant to be: someone grand and
glorious in the hearts of others, steadfast
and strong in the storms of life, bold and
beautiful in the eyes of God.
4. As an ‘attitude.’
Grace is the attitude of gratitude. Grace
gives us an unbelievable appreciation for
the gift of life …a sense of wonder and
elation at the lavish generosity of God. We
learn through grace to stand awestruck and
amazed, and rightfully so.
The fear that binds so many of our souls,
that fatal fear of being unacceptable,
someone easily rejected, is eradicated; it
is cured completely when we learn to trust
that we are accepted by One whose acceptance
of us matters more than all the world
combined. You see, to experience grace is
to recover our hearts; and our hearts were
made to trust in the Father’s unfailing
love. Shame cheats us of that ability, it
robs us of the willingness to trust Him like
a child; grace gives it back to us. Trust
is what we rediscover in our experience of
grace.
