A Taste of Grace
It was one of those Holiday season mornings. You know the kind. The coffee you are sipping is cold, you’re in the rush of the morning trying to get your child ready for their extracurricular activity, and the noise of your thoughts ring to the tune of “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
At least that was the way my Saturday morning was going when I heard the panicked sound, “Mom! Mom! I can’t find my leotard for rehearsal!” That morning my Advent devotion was on John 1: 14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Grace and truth. I had meditated on that verse and was equipped in the moment to respond. I would love to report that what happened next was a parenting win for me, that my words were gracious in her mistake of misplacing the item while we rummaged frantically through all the drawers. However, my husband was the hero in this moment. “Katie, what she needs right now is grace.” “I am giving her grace, I know she made a mistake,” I grumbled back. “Grace isn’t irritable,” he gently encouraged. I felt the chisel of the Surgeon’s scalpel in my heart.
It was a Gospel moment. Jesus Christ came to the world in an act of God’s grace to us – that undeserved gift, the most radical act of love and mercy. My husband’s words brought me back to John 1:14. It was a moment to be full of grace and truth. The Apostle Paul exhorted the Colossians, saying “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:6) And grace is an act of love. What is love? Scripture has much to say on this topic, but in that moment what came to mind was 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
“Love is patient and kind; it does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doings, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (ESV).
Our Gospel moment didn’t end with finding the leotard. But it did include me turning around in my speech, sprinkling my words with the salt of grace and the truth. This included an “I love you and I’m sorry for not being more gentle”; an “it’s okay, we can solve this problem”; and a few short words about responsibility for our belongings.
On our way to the studio after our emergency trip to the dance supply store for a new leotard, we turned on the radio and heard “Joy to the World” playing. “He rules the world with truth and grace.” Amen, He does, and glory to God for the way Jesus rules our hearts with His forgiveness and love.
KB