What Does Grace Look Like?

By Traci Bolden

      Center Director - Stuart

Grace is not an easy concept to wrap your mind around.  You can look up grace in the dictionary and you will find words like divine assistance, unmerited favor, or virtue from God.

When we talk about grace and we struggle to define it, we are left to wonder, do we really understand what it is.  Do we even recognize it?   In order to understand what grace is, you need more than a definition.  It requires an experience.

One of the best ways to convey grace is through a story – your story.  There is something that is captured through telling about an experience you have had or what God has done in your life rather than simply just giving an explanation.

Grace is the heart of our relationship with God.  It says that no matter who you are or what you have done, grace can still be part of your story.

Everything that God does through you, he does by grace.  God knew every dirty deed you would ever commit, yet he still chose to create you.  We believe that God is the author of life, but do we live like He is our gracious creator.   When you look at scripture, the concept of God’s grace is woven throughout the pages of both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  He taught us about grace through stories, stories that are still just as relevant to our lives today.  We hear stories of the nameless woman at the well where God’s grace was poured out.  She was a woman who desired to be wanted, to be cared for when no one, not even herself, could see anything of value in her.  Her story is uncomfortable to describe, but it is the epitome of God’s grace and forgiveness.  We also see grace in the story of David, who is the ultimate example of God’s “unmerited favor”.  David lusted, stole, committed adultery, lied, and even killed, and yet, God saw his heart and loved him.

Grace is what rewrites our story.  It is not having to wait to get your life “cleaned up” or “back on track.”  It embraces you in your mess.  Romans 5:20 tells us that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”  Our stories allow grace to spread.

Grace is also seeing people through the eyes of Jesus.  It is not always easy to give grace, especially when it is seemingly undeserved, but when you replace what has happened to you with what God has done for you, you find you have more grace to give.

Grace is what is required for you to live free.  Ephesians 1: 7-8 tells us that “it is the blood of Jesus that gives us grace (sets us free).”  It is not something earned or deserved.  It is the price He paid for us.  Grace is when God gives you what you need, not what you deserve. 

 

What does grace look like in your life?  How has God shown you favor when you did not deserve it?  We do not have to look very far to be able to tell that story.

When you look in the mirror…you are looking back at the very definition of grace.  Your story is where grace is defined.  Allowing God to rewrite your story… that is what grace looks like.