Grace for the Disgraced

"He was…full of grace…And of his fullness have all we received…" It has been said, "Justice is getting what you deserve; mercy is getting less than you deserve; and grace is getting more than you deserve. Christ was full of grace, and we have received of that fullness. There is no area in the Christian life when a person displays more Christ-likeness than when he or she is showing grace towards the fallen. One who is controlled by the Spirit of Christ never says of another's misfortune, "They got what they deserved."

For years, I was associated with a movement that, to their credit, manifested abundant grace toward the vilest. But it stopped with the salvation of the sinner. It seemed grace ran dry when it came to manifesting it to the saint. Both in the homes, churches, and workplaces, there was only stringent rules and regulations to be kept. And there was no hope for one who came short in any one of these areas. And so, as a result of bringing personal embarrassment upon these lofty ones, who thought themselves exempt from the poor publican’s dilemma, the sinning saint received, not loving, tender grace, but a long time grudge.

The Christian cannot be full of grace, and, at the same time, full of self.