When my daughters were a lot younger and still in the nappy wearing age, I learnt something about grace through an incident that happened with them.
The youngest was still wearing nappy/diaper to sleep. We were trying to get the oldest out of this. So we would wake up at night to get her to use the toilet. This particular day, she had wet the bed even after going to toilet at night.
We knew about her wetting the bed from the conversation we heard in her room. I went in to find out what happened. Brianna who is the youngest was telling her off for wetting the bed. However, Brianna’s nappy was full. So if not for the nappy that was covering her shame, her bed would have been wet, even worse than Isabella’s.
As I watched this scene, I realised this is what grace does. The fact that the sins I commit hasn’t come out in the open, doesn’t mean I don’t sin. The jealousy and gossip and unforgiveness is equally as heavy as the sin of the murderers. I judged people so bad that just like my little girl, I acted like the one without sin. I was quick to point out the flaws of others. I was quick to shame others until they couldn’t find where to hide their faces. Sometimes I didn’t do this with my words but my actions towards them came across this way.
I realised I was selfish in this area. I didn’t want to extend the same grace I enjoyed to others. I wanted forgiveness for my sins but I didn’t want the ones who committed ‘bigger’ sins to be forgiven. I wanted my case to be handled with love but my neighbors shouldn’t enjoy the same.
This gave me a simple interpretation of grace in a way I will never forget. Are you gracious? As you go about your day today, make sure you are slow to judge and condemn. Give and allow others accept the same grace you would like to enjoy. Grace isn’t for a few. It is for all. Jesus Christ didn’t only die for me/you, He died for all. The benefits of His death is available for us all. Let’s not make others feel unworthy to receive grace and mercy.
Remember the rule. “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12 NLT
God bless you!
What a way to see grace! Loved every bit of it. Had an encounter couple days back that made me realize I had forgotten how to overlook the mistakes of others, especially when it hurts. Got reminded yesterday and again today while reading this post. Thanks for sharing!
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Glory to God sis! I’m always grateful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit. God bless you!
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Amen and bless you too! Loved your blog too! Keep doing it!
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Thank you 🙂
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smiles!
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21 Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. Job 32:21
11 For there is no respect of persons with God. Romans 2:11
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Thanks Carlos.
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What a wonderful analogy! I love this. Thank you.
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Thanks Sis. Amazing how God’s word comes alive in our everyday lives
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Yes, this speaks to me. Every time I have a thought that comes off as judgmental I’ve been working on calling it out and asking Christ for His guidance and His love to reflect in me. 🙂
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Same! This even happened to me yesterday after posting this. I quickly remembered what I posted and repented immediately. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who is there to convict us and bring things to our remembrance. God’s guidance is what we need. His love is needed to be shown through us in this world of hate. Blessings to you!
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Amen 🙂
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Yes indeed, grace is for all.
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Yes it is. Thanks indeed. God bless
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What a great analogy!
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Thank you sis💕
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Hmmm this is powerful and an eye opener. My pastor usually says “Grace will disqualify the qualified and qualify the unqualified” now I understand the meaning…
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So glad this brought some clarity to you. I love that phrase said by your pastor.
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Thank you. I shared your post with my mom and my step dad. He enjoyed it 😊
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Aww that is so sweet. Thank you so much. How is motherhood treating you?
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Most of the time I’m always exhausted. Motherhood is not an easy Journey but I give God all the glory for His grace.
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Yes. It is so worth it💕😊
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Wonderful post, Efua. This is such a down to earth way to understand grace and from a mother’s point of view. It is interesting that you use the word “nappy” as we use to do in Jamaica. At that time nappy was some white cloths that we pinned on the baby. I used them for my daughter and later disposable diapers. Your post brought back a lot of pleasant memories. Thanks for sharing your story. You brought joy to my heart.
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Lol.. we call diapers nappies in the UK. Glad you enjoyed reading the blog post. It’s an old one from 2017. I have a lot of catching up to do on here. Looking forward to catching up on yours😁
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I guess we get that word from the British. 🙂
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Probably so😁
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Efua, yes we must not be those who make hypocritical judgments of others, who look at the speck in their eyes while we ignore the log in our own. And, swinging the pendulum the other direction, we should also not be so soft on sin that we give the impression to other believers in Jesus Christ that their sin no longer matters to God or that it is ok to keep on living in sin, for after all, not one of us is perfect. I believe the truth of God’s grace lies somewhere in between harsh and hypocritical judgments of others and total leniency and giving the message of cheap grace.
For, yes, God’s grace does forgive us our sins, and yes, our God is patient with us, he is loving, he is forgiving, he is compassionate and he is sympathetic, knowing that we are weak. But God’s grace also instructs us to say “No” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives. And, Jesus was strong about sin, especially to the hypocritical self-righteous who were living in wickedness while putting on a false righteousness on the outside. But he was also compassionate and forgiving toward the sinner who was willing to repent.
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I agree. The point of this post was for us to extend the same grace we crave for every day to others. Of course, grace is never an excuse to continue swimming in sin. However it is hypocritical of us to use a magnifying glass on the sins of others while inwardly praying for ours not to be exposed. We should hold each other accountable (this includes us making ourselves accountable to others too)😊
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I agree. We all need to live transparent lives in full integrity. Thanks, Efua.
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❤️😊
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