Practicing Grace
Thursday’s Verse:
From 1 Peter 4:10 ESV
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”
On Tuesday, I sat in the waiting area of the cancer center when I overheard a fellow patient unloading to a nurse about how she was being treated. You could probably guess her complaints: doctors were incompetent; nurses were cold; the entire system was broken, and only in place to get insurance companies rich. While listening, I’ve heard it all before. The reality cancer patients go through is the same: Cancer treatment stinks. Chemotherapy is nasty, and radiation is ugly.
Part of me wanted to stand up to defend the staff - they’ve been terrific to me, even when I’ve deserved “less than nice care” for being a pain. This shows the tension we have as Christians, what is called simul iustus et peccator (saint and sinner). My sinner side felt the Law - the demand that this woman and I be more grateful and polite. It is easy to judge a fellow sinner’s struggle when their reaction grates on our nerves. But grace did something else. It held me back from screaming and instead replaced it with a loving hand held out.
I spoke with the woman about the worries she was going through, concerns every cancer patient has felt during their treatment. My perspective about the staff came out, how they’re always there for us through the hell we go through. We agreed on her insurance company rant, something every medical professional would stand with us.
Grace reminds us that we are all broken in various ways. Sometimes, sinful behavior comes with a bad attitude, serving as a mask for the terrifying fear of what’s next. As Christians, we’re encouraged to be Jesus’ light to someone going through darkness. We’re called upon by the Almighty to bring a smile and a hopeful thought to the person who can’t see anything but sadness.
God reminds us that grace often arrives right in the middle of a rant, through the haze of anger, and sometimes, in the quiet strength of a held-back scream. Practicing grace in all situations is Christ-like.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Almighty Father, grant me Your grace to be for others a light shining in the darkness of this sinful and broken world. Grant me the courage and stamina to show a Christ-like example. In Your Son’s name, I pray, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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