As we are once again, both signing up and rejoining our Life Groups, it’s a great time to explore extending grace to others. It can be a blessing and a challenge to spend time in community with others. There are those we immediately bond with and those that continually rub us wrong. Let’s be honest here. there are those we continually rub wrong as well. And, this is where we grow!
We have all heard that iron sharpens iron. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” is from Proverbs 27:17. The phrase suggests that people can sharpen each other through fellowship, interaction, and meeting together. It also implies that people need to constantly be in fellowship with each other, as God did not intend for humans to be alone.
discipleFIRST posted an article a few years back that gives us a simple guideline to remember as we once again jump into Life Groups, as well as everyday life.
4 Practical Ways To Extend God’s Grace to Others
By Craig Etheredge | discipleFIRST
Each of us stands in need of God’s grace, but each of us also has the opportunity to reflect God’s grace to the people around us. (2 Corinthians 3.18 TLB) says, “We can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works with us, we become more and more like him.”
As the Spirit of God continues to transform you on the inside, you become more and more like Jesus, and you begin to reflect Him to those around you. Part of what we reflect to others is the grace of God. Jesus told His disciples, “Freely you have received; freely give,” (Matthew 10.8 NIV).
Just as you have received the gracious favor of God, now let God use you to show His grace to others. You may ask, “How can I show God’s grace to my family, friends, co-workers or even strangers?”
Here are some practical ways:
1. Extend forgiveness.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace,” (Ephesians 1.7 NIV). The grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus forgives your sin and restores your relationship with God.
One way you can extend God’s grace to others is by forgiving those who have offended you. In that way, your life becomes a living portrait of the gospel. In fact, Jesus said that “if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins,” (Matthew 6.15 NIV).
Receiving God’s grace and forgiveness requires that you extend God’s grace and forgiveness to others. After reminding the church in Ephesus about the grace they received, the Apostle Paul added, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you,” (Ephesians 4.32 NIV). Just as Jesus forgave you, forgive others. Just as Jesus was gracious toward you, be gracious toward others. This way, you put God’s grace on display for the world to see.
2. Extend encouragement.
(Colossians 4.6 NIV) says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Another way we can extend God’s grace is by the words we choose. Gracious words are life giving. They point to Jesus. They are seasoned with truth and kindness.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen,” (Ephesians 4.29 NIV). The opposite of gracious words are “unwholesome” words. The term can be translated “abusive, corrupt” — it literally means “rotten or worthless.”
Worthless words inflict pain; gracious words bring healing. Worthless words are abusive; gracious words are gentle. Worthless words tear down; gracious words build up. Worthless words injure; gracious words benefit those who hear them.
3. Extend a helping hand.
“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well,” (Romans 12.6 NLT). You can extend God’s grace by serving people with the talents and gifts God has given you. At your birth, God instilled in you certain aptitudes and abilities as part of the fabric of your unique design. At your rebirth, the Spirit also gifted you with certain spiritual gifts, energizing you with His power to serve others and glorify God.
When you serve other people using the talents and gifts God has given you, you are extending grace to them. Peter wrote, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms,” (I Peter 4.10 NIV).
In a sense, you are a steward of God’s gifts. They are yours on loan from God, and you are accountable to Him for how you use what He gave you to serve others. I’m sure in God’s eyes, it is a beautiful picture to see His people receiving His grace through special gifts and then sharing them with others. The result is that grace is multiplied and joy grows exponentially.
4. Extend the hope of the gospel.
The Apostle Paul never got over the grace that God showed him. In (1 Timothy 1.13-16 NIV) he wrote to his young ministry apprentice, Timothy, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”
In other words, Paul was saying: “I was the worst guy you could imagine … and yet God chose to pour His grace on me full to overflowing! If I can be saved, anyone can be saved!” Paul was so overwhelmed with God’s grace in his life that he was compelled to share that good news with other people.
In (1 Corinthians 9.16 NIV) Paul said, “For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” In (Ephesians 3.2 NIV), He described the gospel as “the administration of God’s grace,” that was given to him to pass on to others. One of the ways you can extend God’s grace to others is simply by telling them what Jesus has done for you, and how they can come to know Him personally. There is no greater reward than sharing the gospel with people who desperately need God’s grace.
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As we enter this next season of community – Life Groups, Holidays, etc. – we pray you can be in a position to sharpen others as they sharpen you. Of course, always walking in God’s grace and sharing His grace with others as He has extended His grace to you.
For God and you,
Deb Bostwick
Singles Blogger