Lately, I’ve been a big fan of grace. Not that I haven’t always been a fan. I have. But lately I’ve come to love grace even more, mostly because I see my own need of it and because I see how beautiful it looks when believers share grace and opt for it instead of the usual condemnation and shunning.

If I see you through the lens of grace, I don’t see your failures, flaws and shortcomings. I see your potential and possibilities. I see who you could become and who you are becoming in Christ. I see who Christ has already declared you to be and believe that for you when you can’t believe it for yourself.

The only way believers can come together and be unified the way Christ prayed we would be is through grace. And if Jesus prayed above all for our unity, it can no longer be a nice option or a good alternative. It has to be what we long for more than anything. I think that’s because our love for each other is our most powerful witnessing tool. More than Scriptural knowledge (though that is vital) or doctrinal purity (also essential). The early church captivated the ancient world by the way believers loved each other. That’s what will captivate our world and draw people to the Jesus we serve.

It’s easy to decide that someone isn’t worth the effort to love or even like. It’s an easy cop-out to say that we can’t like or be friends with everybody, so why try. Jesus commands us to love each other and He doesn’t give us any loopholes or exceptions to the rule. I as a believer am called to love those God places in my life, whoever they are and whether they love me back or not. I am called to love those who carry the name of Christian, whether I think I like them or not.

How do we truly love in this way? Only if we see through the eyes of grace. We can’t believe God’s best for others if we don’t believe it for ourselves. If we don’t believe what God says about us, how can we believe it for others? If we are in bondage to religion and rules, we won’t be able to see others through grace, but only through guilt and condemnation. Only when we are set free in Christ can we really see people as God sees them.

My prayer is that you would see yourself as God sees you and receive it. That you would hear what God says about you and believe it. Then you would see others the same way and believe the same for others. That you would make every effort and do everything in your power to love all your brothers and sisters in Christ and be in unity. Because love is what will win in the end.

Amen and amen.