Grace deep- move past superficial decencies to sacrificial investment. Into my story, into my insecurity. Into their story, into their pain. Past my prejudice, beyond my opinion….
We can walk away clean when we live life and interact at a superficial, skin deep level. It’s easy to walk away from uncomfortable situations, struggling circumstances and heartbreaking realities when we never move past the cover. Shallow interactions are light and unattached but they lack truth and depth.
How many times does our perspective of grace become polarized from the eye of the receiver? God’s grace to us, given freely and so undeserving. Available even through our biggest faults and failures.
But when it comes to us, grace isn’t always that way though, is it?
Sure, grace is freely given, but not without sacrifice from the bestower. God’s grace is able to fill the gap of so many insufficiencies of life and living in this world. However, grace when it comes to relational intentions, is rarely a clean exchange, it’s sacrifice. Grace is simple, but most often not easy. True grace, it digs deep, leaves a scar. It takes courage, it takes grit. It lingers when it’d be easier to run away. It opens doors that would feel safer to keep closed and diminishes the distance we used for security.
When through hurt someone can extend forgiveness or in trial can relinquish blame, that’s grace.
Grace goes beyond comfort. Sure, we can find contentment through grace, but it doesn’t offer us complacency. As soon as we grasp our barring and find forgiveness in it’s free offering, more frequently than not we are directly in need to bestow it towards another. Undeserving, it works both ways.
Yes, grace is goodness, but not our goodness. It’s His goodness through us. It goes deeper than our flesh would choose to suffer. Grace is holy. Grace is deep.