Give them grace

Give grace.  I've heard this saying a whole lot in the last year.  It's like a fad saying and those are always annoying.  But there is truth in it so I shouldn't throw it out altogether.  To give grace means to forgive someone when they don't deserve it.  It means to love someone who doesn't deserve it.  And to not let the ungrateful people in our lives turn us into cynics, ruining who God created us to be.

This picture made me laugh so hard when I saw it.  We all have these kind of people in our lives though.  It would be so much easier to just cut these people out but that's just not always possible.  That annoying, stubborn, or just plain unlovable person in your life might be a relative.  They might be a coworker, or someone else you just can't get away from.  When this is the case it's nice to remember that God is sovereign and nothing happens without Him allowing it.  He may have put this person into your life because you need to learn something from it.  You need to practice loving someone who isn't easy to love.

Matthew 5:46-48
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Luke 6:32-36

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

It's good for us when God asks us to do things that are not easy.  It's an opportunity for growth and if it were easy God wouldn't get the credit.  That frustrating person in your life may be hard to love but you don't have to do it alone.  Ask Him for help.  It's good to remember too that we don't deserve the grace that God gives us, but He does it anyways.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. 

On the flip side of all that - how easy is it for people to love you?  Is there any way possible that you are that difficult person in someone's life?  That they have to pray for help giving grace to you on a regular basis?  Oh I hope not!  If someone does something for you, do you say thank you?  Do you appreciate it when others offer to help you or do you take it for granted?  Do you respond if they call you or message you?  Nonresponse is like ignoring them you know, and how does that feel?  Do you reciprocate or just  do the asking?  I sure hope I'm not the difficult person in someones life.  If I am then I would feel like I'm failing miserably at the mission God has given me here.  

I once saw someone post that she had gotten sick and she wondered who she needed to forgive for that.  I liked that and it stuck with me.  Now when that person is frustrating me I think "here's another chance to practice giving grace Lord" and I can approach it differently.  I hope that as you go through your day today you are able to think of that frustrating person in a new way.  That you can remember that God loves them too.  That God put them in your life, and that there is a reason for whatever you are dealing with today.