Misunderstood Grace

One morning as I was cleaning my kitchen, I was called over by my eldest daughter, Kailani, as she pointed down to her baby sister. She wanted me to see the big mess that Kamryn made with Cheerios scattered across the floor.

Kailani continuously called my name – though she had already gotten my attention, I looked down at Kamryn and simply just smiled.

What Kailani, didn’t know was that I watched Kamryn’s actions the entire time. I knew that when I gave Kamryn the cereal bowl, she would mishandle it and toss the cereal all over the place.

My main objective was to keep Kamryn busy as I cleaned up the kitchen.

I was willing and ready to clean everything up once she got done playing.

Kailani, on the other hand, looked and acted as if I should have scorned and stopped Kamryn.

In this moment, I begin to think about how so many Christians have felt that God should have dealt with or punished someone in the manner they thought was deserving.

But the truth is, it is never our place to be another’s judge nor put in place the punishment they “think”people ought to have.

God sees and knows everyone’s deeds, words, and even thoughts.

He is the Judge of the world.

If it wasn’t for His grace and mercy, we would have had to face His great wrath because of the messes we’ve made.

In the messiest times of our lives, whereas people thought we knew better, God knew and understood that we didn’t know any better and needed grace and space to grow up to fully understand the difference between what is right and what is wrong, good and what is bad, and what it means to be a child of God and what it means to be a child of the devil.

Therefore, we ought to not put ourselves in God’s seat and judge or attempt to punish others – nor desire punishment for them.

It’s never our business to know how God will deal with other people when “we feel” that they are wrong.

The right thing to do in these moments when we witness someone getting away with wrong is to pray for them. Pray that they come into the knowledge of God and his grace and mercy, and that they respond to it with a mature, willing, and obedient heart.

AND..

To pray that you (who judges others) may learn what it means to be gracious and merciful towards others, and that God gives you the strength and mind to focus on following Him in holiness.

After all, it’s proof that God has been gracious to those who has once lived reckless and is now apart of the body as a believer.

So I ask, “Where were you and what were you doing when God found you and granted you grace?”

"Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"               John 21:20-23