Grace

Written by Zhey Chua |Posted on December 10, 2008 | Comments

You remember our neighbor Chris and our small food business? Well, Chris played a big role in the business, he was the one who sold our goods around the village and for a few weeks, we were so dependent on him. We were quite happy to work with him because he proved himself to be a good salesman.

The other day, however, I found out that Chris’ sister in law sent them money to buy their own three wheeled bicycle for his own business. I felt bad at first and I started feeling anxious because the small food business was all we had and with Chris running his own business now, I would have to think of another way to augment our income using the same resource.

I was still in a state of panic when I bumped into his wife that afternoon, she had no choice but to explain to me why her husband hasn’t shown up the last couple of days for work and I saw how difficult it was for her to be the one to explain. “I told Chris to let you know first, but he went right ahead selling around the subdivision…” she mumbled while tears brimmed her eyes, her face downcast. I felt something tug at my heart, all anger, all anxiety, all panic just left me and all I did was hold her close to me and assure her that it is okay, that I understand, that she has two children to think about while I have none, that it is perfectly all right…

I went home and told Warren about what happened and my husband looked at me like I came from outer space. And then, it hit him, what I did was a demonstration of grace.

Now I am not saying that I would like to take credit for what I did and exalt myself for having acted in such a way. The thing is, would I be able to do that on my own? I searched my heart and even if I did not, I knew that I would not have done that if I was not in the Lord. It probably is worth mentioning that since I am a Christian and that I have full trust and confidence in God, it was easier for me to let it go, but again, it is not just about me being a Christian and trusting in the Lord’s provision. You see, it is really about how much grace the Lord Himself showed me by choosing to save me – a wretched, filthy, abominable sinner like me who deserves nothing else but eternal hell.

Sometimes, or maybe often times, we neglect to appreciate the beauty of God’s grace upon us that we forget to be gracious to others, even to unbelievers. It is even sadder to realize that Christians who think they are saved forget that the reason they are saved is because of the grace granted them and they tend to look down on those who remain non-believers, the presence of prejudice takes over their hearts. We forget to look at the bigger picture that is Christ hanging on the cross for the salvation of man. When Christ died on the cross, He did not specify on for whom He will die for. He died for everyone. His grace is for everyone. And if Christ, who is blameless and the only righteous one to ever walk the face of the earth, can grant mankind undeserved grace – and that means you, and me and everyone who believes in Him – then what right do we, mere humans, have to be ungracious to our fellowmen?