Extending Grace

By: Melissa Baker

I am so thankful for God giving us grace. And I am glad that he does so in a loving manner. The definition of Grace is: the free and unmerited (not deserved) favor of God. Since God so freely extends grace to us when we don't deserve it, shouldn't we extend that same grace to others as well? If you want to learn how to show grace to others, all while having the right attitude, the five steps below are necessary. I am sure there are more than just these steps to extending grace. But the following are important steps in the process to prepare our hearts and minds, to not only receive grace, but to give it as well.

Five Steps To Extending Grace To Others:

Get right with God- Ask for forgiveness of your sins, connect with Him daily and be sure you have a right relationship with the Lord. Only then will we be able to recognize the grace he has already given us, and have a softened heart to give grace to others. We have to be in the right mindset and our hearts have to be in the right place to properly extend grace to others.

Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord's blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.

Psalms 24:4-5

Read The Bible- It is so important to read our Bibles every day. It gives us wisdom, prepares us for our day and allows us to hear from God through His Word. We learn about God's grace and the correct attitude we should have through reading our Bible. 

But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

Matthew 4:4

Pray- Talking with God is essential! Imagine if we treated all of our relationships like we do our relationship with God... would we have very many people in our lives? Praying is an important part of a relationship with God. Not only do we talk with God, but we also hear from God. Thank God for his grace, but also pray that you would be able to show grace to others as well, and with the right attitude.

But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. 

Job 8:5-6

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Think before you speak- Often times, we think before we speak. If someone upsets us, we immediately fly off the handle and give in to what our flesh is feeling. We need to slow down, and think about what we are about to say. Is it helpful or constructive? Is it uplifting? Is it said in love? If not, we probably shouldn't say it. Sometimes, simply shutting our mouths is a great way to show grace. My mom always taught us, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all".

The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.

Proverbs 15:28 NLT

Treat others the way you want to be treated-  No one wants to be called an idiot, or a loser. No one wants to be treated like they don't matter or that they are not loved. We all want to feel loved and accepted. Let's treat each other like we would want to be treated. If we want grace from the Lord, we should freely give grace to others as well.

Do unto others as you would like them to do to you.

Luke 6:31 NLT

Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Matthew 22:37-39

The bottom line is this: We need to extend grace to others when they make mistakes or upset us. And we must have an attitude that is pleasing to God while showing grace to others. Without extending grace to others, we are no different than the world. And following these five steps listed above will help guide us in the right direction. God gives us grace every single day, and we should extend that same grace to others around us. 

Have a great day!