Grace is...

'A gift that costs everything for the giver and nothing for the recipient'

'Does not depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us'

'A humble awareness that God has already forgiven us a debt so mountainous that besides it any persons' wrongs against us shrink to the size of anthills'

'God loves people because of who God is, not because of who we are'

'There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less'

These are quotes from Phillip Yancey's book 'What's So Amazing About Grace?' that struck me as interesting and challenging. As a new believer I have accepted that Jesus died for me and in doing so allowed me to be saved from my own sinfulness - to be given a chance, where I didn't deserve it. However, these quotes are quite stark in their urge that now that we have accepted that fact, we have to act upon it. As Jesus illustrated in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matt 18:23-35), one of the things God calls us to do is to extend the gift of Grace He has given us to others, we are not perfect and so cannot expect perfection from others who are the same as us, even of they have committed acts and sins that we would never consider doing.
This makes me feel both hopeful and anxious. Hopeful because it means that there is a way that humanity can mend itself from the violence and selfishness that is so often displayed throughout the world and in our own lives. It also means that there is a chance that I can recover my heart and soul from the stone of hatred and fear that it is currently behind. However, it makes me anxious because these quotes remind me how little progress I have made in this area. I am thankful for what God has done for me but i'm not sure how, or if I even want, to extend that to others. Yet I know that I cannot have all that God has promised if I do not................