While running this morning, I began thinking about the grace of God. How much I need it and how much I must receive of it. And the thought occurred to me, “This is how you are to act also.” As a Christian, I am to seek to be like Christ, to follow in His steps, to ask as the religious crowd of today does, “What Would Jesus Do?” Especially as people with authority, we tend to want to be like God in his holiness and righteousness — handing out wrath and punishment. Isn’t that “true love”? Doesn’t a loving father chasten his erring child? Independent, Fundamentalist, Separatist, Baptists many times major on this or these types of themes in our interactions with others. And God is righteous and He does meet out punishment for our sins. But above all these things, He is gracious. How long does he give the wicked to repent? How long does the erring child have to return to Him? How many hundreds of years did Israel turn from Him before he destroyed them? God is gracious. In all our sins, He still blesses us. He still gives us good things. I’m not trying to play semantics, but we all sin and we all recieve (have) good things. Every good thing we have comes from God. So God must give us good things even when we sin. He also punishes us in our sin. I’m not trying to say “Go ahead, sin, God will still bless you.” What I am saying is that we’d all be dead in Hell if God did not still bless us even when we sin. So what is the point of this? As Christians, especially those of us with authority, we need to remember to do good to those “under” us, and not wait to do good to them until they have “made the grade.” None of us have “made the grade” yet! I’m not saying overlook sin. What I’m saying is: do good to all, all the time, not just when they are good. Your children or charges ought to always know that you love them and not just because they get enough grief from you to prove it. Your love should be demonstrable by good things regardless of whether they are good or bad.
…still thinking.
You Think Too Much! 
Good post.
there are a few things I would like too comment on. 1. God’s grace towards sinners. I totally don’t understand this. I have benefitted from it, but don’t undertsand it. Although I was out of church several years, during that time I was given a good college degree and Great husband. God took care of me when I turned my back on Him.
2. Next comment is making the grade. I know I will never “making the grade” concerning staff views. I don’t care I would rather be real then a fake. I see too many fake Christians out there trying to please man instead of attempting to please God.
Very good post!!!
I write responses out of grace. I don’t legalistically write these comments, but because I want to write them out of God’s grace. What I am saying is true, although I say it somewhat with tongue in cheek. I tiled the backsplash in the kitchen, a job not finished yet, because I still have the grout and elevating the outlets to the height of the tile. I rented a tile cutter, and said I wanted it for 4 hours. It took me 20 hours. Have you had jobs like that. Underestimating time is one of my great faux pauxs. I’m not stressing though because I serve out of His grace.