Today’s Scripture: Matthew 18:33

“Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”

We’re brought into God’s kingdom by grace; we’re sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we’re motivated to obedience by grace; we’re called to serve and enabled to serve by grace; we receive strength to endure trials by grace; and we’re glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God’s grace.

This grace is not only to be received by us; it is, in a sense, to be extended to others. I say “in a sense” because our relationship to other people is different from God’s relationship to us. He is the infinitely superior Judge and moral Governor of the universe. We are all sinners and are on an equal plane with one another. So we cannot exercise grace as God does, but we can relate to one another as those who have received grace and who wish to operate on the principles of grace.

In fact, we won’t experience the peace with God and the joy of God if we aren’t willing to extend grace to others. This is the point of Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-34.

The person who is living by grace sees the vast contrast between his own sins against God and the offenses of others against him. He forgives others because he himself has been so graciously forgiven. He realizes that by receiving God’s forgiveness through Christ he has forfeited the right to be offended when others hurt him. He practices the admonition of Paul: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

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