“Sin will have no dominion
over you since you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
“For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”
(Ephesians 2:8).
“Each of us was given
grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7).
“Live in love as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:2).
Why this sampling of numerous New Testament verses about
grace? We are “graced” people. We are saved by God’s show of grace, the
sending of his beloved Son on our behalf.
The hope we have for eternal life is a gift God gives us. If we understand we have been gifted with
grace, we will be eager to extend grace to others.
Opportunities to give grace come up in every encounter in
life. A most present and immediate application
for grace is the awkwardness of emerging from COVID-19 quarantines, back into
fully engaged life. Those vaccinated and
ready to take off masks need to have patience and give grace to those who
insist we still need to wear masks.
Those not quite ready to be fully open can extend grace to people
running around without masks on.
Some people have not been vaccinated and there are still
new cases of COVID-19 in our area every day.
Those under 12 years of age aren’t eligible for vaccination yet. Vaccinated people can be carriers of COVID
without getting symptoms themselves. When
they wear masks, they are “living in love” (Eph. 5:2), showing love for
vulnerable, unvaccinated neighbors.
Whatever one feels about masks, vaccinations, and COVID-19,
when we are in Christ, our priority is to share self-giving love to our
neighbors as Christ gave himself for us.
If we approach others in a spirit of self-giving love and extend grace, we’ll
get through the awkward conversations.
We’ll get past the tribulation of the pandemic. Our purpose is to bear witness to the gospel
of Jesus. One of the ways we can do that
is to give love and grace.
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