Sunday, June 3, 2012

Grace and perfection and hypocrisy

Recently, I've been learning a lot about grace. I've realized it's something I'll never completely understand, but something I so desperately need. Here's why:

I lack humility. I work really freaking hard on everything I do. I'm a perfectionist to a fault. I like to be recognized for what I do and my achievements. Clearly, the exact opposite of humility. I'm really bad with judging people in my head. (That's actually really tough and pretty humbling to admit, but I'm working on it. The amount of times I've said "I'm working on it" on this block is gross. Give me some grace please.) Except I make mistakes and I have sins that I'm not proud of. Except I think my sins are more "acceptable". Except I was raised in a good family. Except I never got in trouble in school or gave my parents a hard time. Except I did what I was supposed to! Except I'm selfish. I'm stubborn. I get angry easily. I project it onto other people. I don't trust God the way I should. Sometimes I don't filter what I say, without thinking. I'm so incredibly impatient. Sometimes I'm bitter. I have road-rage. I'm hypocritical. I'm a perfectionist, I'm too hard on myself and get frustrated when I can't control things.

Except, Except, Except.



"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

The point of grace is that there isn't anyone that measures up. I can't be good enough. I can't earn grace. Some days, that's a pretty big pill to swallow. I like my facade of perfection. It's something I can hide behind. Even when my shortcomings seem decent or tolerable. I still need the same grace and forgiveness every second of every day.

According to Mounce's Expository Dictionary ( Is it weird that I own this? Probably, but I think it's awesome.) the word grace is equivalent to the Greek word Charis. Part of that definition is "Grace is a new domain in which and by which Christians live. In this realm sin no longer rules. By His grace, God affects Christians' personal lives, giving them the ability to obey the gospel from the heart, the ability to work hard and increase their joy in severe trials.

In my shortcomings and failures and weaknesses, God's grace is made perfect.

Do you know how much Joy that brings me?!

I'm still learning a lot about grace like I said before, and how much I so desperately need it. But I think everyone needs to hear this. God's grace is sufficient for you. ( I really want to put a "hashtag boom", but I'll restrain myself. Still if you haven't seen this video, you should.)

The url of this blog is "A standard of grace" we're a world of broken people who are never going to reach a standard of perfection. That's the beauty of the gospel though. We don't have to. His grace is sufficient for us.

What does this have to do with my upcoming trip to India?

I'm learning how so incredibly necessary grace is everyday. People across the world need to be freed from the shackles of reaching perfection to understand grace. Suffering and brokenness is universal and cross-cultural. The answer to that is still grace.  In the same way, I need to work on forgiving and extending grace to those around me because being in close proximity to the same fifteen people and through that much travel time, airports, trains, buses and not speaking the same language is going to require some grace and leeway for all of us.

I don't really have any answers, and this probably wasn't the most insightful post, but I think this trip will prove to have quite a few lessons, one of those being grace.


                                                   With Love,
                                                      Kaitlyn




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