The Gift of Grace

Valentine's Day, the day card companies and florists delight in. I told 

my husband if he had any thoughts of buying me flowers, I'd rather 

have a bouquet of apples. The beauty of an apple equals the rose and 

it's delicious too. 

People buy chocolate, roses, cards, and diamonds as they strive to 

express love. But department stores don't sell one of the most 
important gifts we can give each other - Grace, one of those abstract 
Bible terms. We appreciate God offering it to us but how exactly do we share it with others? That's the question I'll spend my next few 
posts trying to answer. 

Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 1:14). We came needing grace 

and truth. A match made in heaven. Our relationships on earth excel by 

His grace too, when we remember to show it. The following acronym 

reminds us to share His grace on Valentine's Day and every day.

G- Gospel  

When I get upset or impatient with my husband I remind myself that 

Jesus died on the cross for him. This helps soften my heart toward 
someone so precious to God.

R- Respect  

Scripture tells us to respect our husbands (Eph. 5:33). We're okay with 

that as long as we think they deserve it. But God gives His grace freely 

and wants us to do the same.                                                   

A- Affection 

This one can be the hardest. If my husband offers a few too many constructive criticisms, hugging him isn't my first reaction. Romans 

12:10 reminds me to keep trying because kindness dispels resentment.

C- Contentment  

Contentment grows more from giving thanks for what we have than 
getting everything we want. A content and grateful heart enables us 
to show grace to the people we love.  

E- Edify  

God gave us the gift of speech to build others up not tear them down. 

We have the opportunity to speak words that strengthen and 

encourage our spouses. Yet because we talk everyday, all day, it's 

easy to forget to season our words with grace (Colossians 4:6).        

Next week we'll look at sharing grace with the children in our lives.