Doling out God’s grace (1)

When the woman at the well offered Jesus a drink of water, He replied, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you…living water.” Jesus routinely showed mercy to the people who least deserved it, and this woman was no exception. How do you measure up when it comes to extending God’s grace to others? Are you generous, or do you take it upon yourself to dole it out sparingly? Jon Walker said, “Grace allows people to make choices…it’s free…flowing…unencumbered by guilt or shame. It says, ‘I know all about you, and I still love you’…Most of us, if we’re honest, function as if God were stingy with His grace. We fear His punishment…we think He is like the high school principal walking the halls, taking down names…but God already knows who did what and who’s to blame, and He loves us anyway. His interest is in redeeming us, not in keeping us on the hook for our sins. Unfortunately, many of us Christians live our lives as if we’re still on the hook…therefore we have to keep everyone else on the hook. We use weapons of the flesh—the sarcastic comment, the angry stare—to get people to straighten up and live right. By contrast, when the woman at the well went back to her village, she said, ‘Come see a man…who knows me inside and out’ (John 4:29 MSG). Nothing was hidden from Jesus, yet He communicated in such a fashion that she left feeling loved and accepted. That’s God’s grace!”