The Holy Spirit Does the Heavy Lifting

When it comes to human-to-human interaction, most everything we do is conditional, even (especially?) love.

Offering undeserved and unconditional love to someone can seem detrimental to our well-being.

When, instead of lashing back, we let that person who hurt us off the hook, flash them the peace sign, and go our own way…

When, instead of scolding the child who acts out, we comfort them…

Instead of ignoring the chatty elderly neighbor (who just drones on and on and on), we look them in the eye and ask how their day is.

Offering grace to others can seem…
Insane.
Absolutely illogical.

It would make much more sense to strike back. To lay down the law and exact the score. To take an eye for an eye. This is the American way…

When it comes to human survival, settling the score is what makes sense. No one could blame us if we did this. After all, THEY’RE clearly in the wrong.

But, somehow, sometimes, we do it. We absolve that person. We comfort the wrongdoer. We reach out to the stranger.

And then it hits us…
Damn it…

We had a chance. We could’ve exacted them. Now what? We just gave them a pass. They’re gonna walk all over us now.

Yes, they might… But when we live from a place of grace, as fleeting as it is, it’s interesting to see what happens. We don’t really know what will happen. Will this come back to bite us?

This is why acting from a place of grace always involves prayer. We have to pray that the Holy Spirit takes it from there. The Holy Spirit is what must do the heavy lifting. We’ve surrendered control of the situation and now…

We’ll see…

But however it turns out…
We’re free of it.

Grace & Godspeed,
Jonas