Yes, the song is correct. Grace is indeed amazing! But God can do that, because…well…He’s God! But can I? Can I give grace to others all the time? Should I? And is my grace even close to being amazing?
The simplest definition of grace that I know of is “getting something we don’t deserve.” And let’s face it, we are the recipients of grace time and time again. But how often are we the givers of grace? How often do we exercise our grace muscle when others don’t deserve our kindness, generosity, love, patience, time, resources, etc.?
There are times when I feel like I shell out grace left and right, constantly, to the degree that my grace bucket is empty. Can you relate? It’s tough to be on the giving end of grace time after time when we don’t see the recipients as deserving. And when the same recipient is single-handedly emptying our grace bucket, it’s even tougher.
So, what do we do when our grace bucket is running on empty?
- Confront the situation–Confrontation can bring much needed change in someone. But ironically enough, we need to confront in such a way that is bathed in grace.
- Go to the well and refill–Making a frequent trip to the grace well and refilling is a crucial exercise for each of us.
- Remember, any grace we give (weak grace, tired grace, or burdened grace) is still grace.
- Put our situation in perspective of God’s grace–He lovingly gives us grace over and over again (knowing full well that we deserve nothing from Him). What a great reminder and model for us!
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love…” And D.L. Moody added, “Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live.”
If we can serve others, generate love, and approach grace as a way to live, I think we’ll find our grace buckets to be overflowing.
