Thursday, September 25, 2008

What's grace got to do with it?

I guess I have always examined grace from God’s perspective, kind of intellectually and theologically, and haven’t spent too much time thinking about how I should be a mirror of God’s grace. When making decisions with groups or individuals I have often said, “If I err I always want to err on the side of grace”. Though that is true, I’m not sure I have really thought through what such a sentiment really means in everyday living. Student’s joke with me that I love asking questions, that I don’t give straight answers to anything. I don’t just practice the art of asking annoying questions to students – I also ask them of myself. The current question that nags my consciousness in most situations is, “What does grace have to do with this?” Related, but more personal for me is, “How can I be grace” in a given situation, for a given person, or relationship? I find that asking these questions causes me to be less judgmental, putting other’s needs above my own concerns.