Have you got a problem person in your life? Somebody that makes you feel like there are nails dragging down the blackboard? Sometimes in order to see the very real people around us, who love us, and live with us, we almost need to be laid aside to start being taught by GRACE. We simply must start giving each other room to grow. At this juncture I think it is important to point out that it’s all too easy to see what’s wrong with somebody else and totally ignore the fact that not only are we not perfect, actually we do the same thing all the time!
I think the Bible talks about that somewhere in there -…logs and specks! No matter what we tell everyone else, what we all actually need as individuals is Grace. It takes great Grace to own your own faults, but if we keep skipping our own change whilst examining everyone else’s life, we’ve missed the point. The old standards of looking and sounding right are shackles – they must come off. Otherwise the pressure to perform will imprison the whole body of Christ! It will be scary at first but the plus side is we will be free to grow and HE gets what He wants. Win – win!!
Some of us have been grown-ups for a very long time and others still feel they need to revert to control to get their own way. Our own way was never part of the deal! His life for ours, that’s the deal. Christians are battling with immature leftover feelings from childhood. People often need healing not constant critiquing, or reprimanding. It is unfair to expect perfection from others. God doesn’t, and we shouldn’t either.
Grace is the currency and language that we need to use to help one another, as well as ourselves. This life is not about convenience and expediency, it’s about us growing into Christ’s likeness. Everything we need for this is available using our faith; our job is to seize the opportunities. People do not mean to make mistakes. We need to leave others the room to learn. That is costly if you feel that you are the person everybody else is learning on! Nevertheless somebody has to decide that making sacrifices is part of Christianity and I think we all need to start with ourselves first.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3: 18. GRACE is our vehicle for growth. But in order to progress, we need to practise it. So those people who annoy the living daylights out of us are God sent opportunities for us to practice. They are not put there to annoy us, these people are just on their own journey toward truth and acceptance. Christ is our model … what He didn’t say speaks volumes.
Sometimes we are so used to our own way of thinking, behaving, and being, that we forget that other people have a different place they are coming from. So what looks like a bad thing to us may be purely harmless to someone else. We need to practise humility, and purpose to lean on Him and learn His ways. That will make us all bigger inside. Our task now is to encourage one another into good works. I think humility and vulnerability are a prime position to do that. I also think it’s why Jesus said, “Don’t call your brother an idiot.” Other people’s learning curves are often our greatest challenges and source of annoyance.
The Holy Spirit will not make anybody do anything. He can present us with urgency and encourage us to persevere. But He’s not a bully. The Lord means for us to treat each other in the same way. “Love one another as I have loved you.” Love does not have to abuse – instead it undergirds, it provides support, simply so the other person can learn. It does this unconditionally because that’s the way the Holy Spirit supports us. Some things are better not even being spoken about if it’s going to cause someone else to feel pushed or coerced. It is not another person’s job to force someone else to conform to their standards or ideas, to transform your life your attitudes your actions etc.
Everything is about Grace. Christ’s death released unending Grace, which is always available to us but we must not abuse it – when we abuse it, we lose the benefit. The way to get Grace is to use it and rely upon it and realise that we are not complete without the Holy Spirit’s input. His Grace is freely available but we must humble ourselves, acknowledge our need and cooperate with the One Who was sent to help us. I have learnt, from experience, to trust the Holy Spirit’s opinion above my own – He knows me better than I know myself – plus He’s just plain lovely. 👋🏻
