I read a tweet from Rick Warren yesterday that said “Since we’re all flawed and broken, I’ve chosen to err in giving too much grace rather than too little.” What life giving words! I wonder how often we harbor our pride and become haughty and arrogant rather than finding ways to reach people with love, and woo them with Christ’s love in us. I know I’ve been guilty of being a “know it all” to my family and friends and passing judgement to people around me, without a thought to whether or not they know Jesus. This isn’t the heart of God. The Bible is clear that what is on the inside of our own hearts is what defiles us, not external things.
Perhaps today, you are like me. Maybe you have been guilty of being haughty and arrogant, prideful of all your “wisdom.” It’s good and right to have a strong theology and know your Bible and what you believe, but ask yourself this: has your pursuit of knowledge truly made you a wiser, seeker friendly Christian? If what you know isn’t leading you into servanthood and compassion, you may not be as wise as you think. In order to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and impact the world around us we need to ask ourselves:
● Do we go out of our way to pursue the lost and broken?
● Do we share our wisdom and the things God has taught us in a relational way that is attractive and easily understood? (Note: Attractive but Biblical, we can’t compromise the word of God or justify sin, but you can make it easy to understand and attractive.)
● Do we teach and share so God is glorified and people feel well loved?
● Do we go out of our way to make people feel welcome and at ease?
Romans 2:4 says it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. It should be our kindness that draws others to meet us at the foot of the cross. I pray that we would be a body of believers that love so deeply and are so kind that people are drawn to our church because of our warmth and in turn meet Jesus. Let us err on the side of giving too much grace.
