Dear All,

There's more than one way to look at the two-word phrase "saving grace". Our first inclination, quite rightly, is to view the phrase as indicating "grace that saves". But I have been discouraged and disheartened to observe that there are some among the ranks of Christians who seem to save their expressions of grace (their graciousness) for those they deem worthy of receiving their favor (kindnesses, compassion, etc.). This, by definition of the word grace, empties such "graciousness" of any meaning related to the word grace.

Grace--unmerited favor--has been given in immeasurable amounts from God the Creator to His fallen and wayward creatures. As commentator E. Underhill has written, "Grace is pouring down on us all the time, whether or not we are aware of it." Such grace is alien to the natural man . . . he cannot conceive of this grace except as God bestows on him the ability. We bow in the presence of God's grace, of which we are humble and thankful recipients. Right?

Not always. Still afflicted and tormented by what the Puritans called "Adam's disease", we all too often treat others, even fellow believers (and, alas, too often even our own family members) with something far less than grace. There are those who have chosen to behave, in their personal relationships (and far too often in their public relationships), more like tin tyrants than grace-blessed believers. Playing God, especially in the act of "choosing" who will be the recipients of our graciousness (most often those who confirm to us our own perceived superiority), we make a mockery of the word grace ... and present a sham of the reality of grace. Separating and choosing those to whom we will exhibit a warm graciousness reflects man's fallen nature--it does not reflect the glorious grace of God.

Our identity is a blend of those marks of attitude and behavior (hopes, aims, habits, actions, etc.) that truly reveals "who we are", and exposes our truest allegiances. For some, their identity betrays the very grace they have received from God. For example, judgment practiced more for condemnation than for discernment has far too often been an observable imbalance in our behavior. It reveals the m.o. (modus operandi -- mode, or way, of operation) of the wicked servant of Matthew 18:23-35.

May our hearts be softened with the knowledge and experience of God's transforming grace, and may we be true image-bearers of Christ as we demonstrate a loving graciousness to others, at all times and in all circumstances. May we be "wise and faithful servants" (Matthew 24:42) of our Lord, radiating the joy and love that we have received from Him in abundance.

In His Grace,
Elaine