Meaning of Grace | 3 Observations of Grace

Meaning of Grace | Giving up our “Need to know”

The meaning of grace often remains a mystery, even to those whose religion provides a spiritual definition.

You’ve likely heard of the phrase, “We’re operating on a need-to-know-basis.”

What if we completely did away with our need to know? 

Could we sacrifice the knowledge that makes us aware of good and evil if the result was bare, intimate fellowship with God? 

Is it possible to live as if “God’s grace really is sufficient?”

I think many of us deeply long for complete transparency so we can experience love and acceptance like we’ve never known before. 

How would it feel to spend a single day without making one conclusion about what is good or bad? 

Is it even possible to live in the freedom of mere existence, absent of judging ourselves and others? 

Do we fully recognize the dire effect of living our lives exclusively according to the knowledge of good and evil, void of grace? 

Meaning of Grace | Quitting Judgement

Not only are we constantly judging ourselves, but we’re tirelessly judging others. 

Our sense of judgement is white noise gone wrong.

Instead of lulling us to sleep, we’re wide awake to judgment, the opposite of grace.

Grace and Judgment are religious dialects

What is your primary language?  Spanish, English, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or an obscure dialect known only to your village or small town? 

When I grew up, my primary language was Christianity. 

I’ve learned there are many dialects for any religion. 

The immediate dialect of those in my closest sphere was “judgement.” 

The lesser known, yet still spoken dialect by nearby Christian churches and denominations was “grace.” 

I was drawn to the dialect of grace, because grace is my namesake in more ways than one. 

My first name, Anna, means grace. 

My second name, Esther, has roots in a national rescue that embodied the grace of a King who granted amnesty to a disadvantaged nation because of Esther’s pleading. 

Do you speak the dialect of grace or judgement?

I don’t know if you’ve ever spent time in a household or community where everyone spoke a language you did not understand. 

I have. 

It’s very confusing, isolating, yet motivating.

Years ago, we adopted 3 girls who spoke French and a dialect that originated in west Baham, Cameroon.

I spoke English and never anticipated the overwhelming frustration I’d feel because of not understanding the conversation around me in my own house.

I’d spent time in a country where I could only interpret facial expressions and body movement as clues to the meaning.

My inability to speak or understand French meant I could never satisfy my need for urgency. I couldn’t get somewhere quickly or effectively solve problems that required communication in French.

So, I finally did something about it rather than spend my time confused and alone.

I listened harder, 

studied the conjugations, 

practiced speaking the foreign language, 

and embraced the misunderstandings. 

I let go of the hurt and pushed harder to come into my own confidence by finally learning a new language.   

Christianity has many dialects

My experience with Christianity has been very similar.

Christians are all living under the same cultural umbrella, but we’re each speaking different dialects. 

Quite frankly, the dialect of judgement has always been too harsh for my taste.  Judgment grates on my nerves and makes me consider abandoning my Christian heritage altogether. 

I’ve spent many nights alone in the driveway, sitting in my car. I wanted to know why Christianity was even worth its salt to begin with.  My prayer was that God unravel the mystery of religion for me.

I cried about how I didn’t understand the dialect of judgement. Would God answer my sincere prayer to finally understand the definition of “grace?”

To me, Christianity meant nothing without grace. 

But was I willing to put in the work to learn a new dialect?

Every dialect is spoken with meaning

At the same time, I realize, we’re all born into a unique family, a specific calling.

We each speak a dialect we’ll never forget, no matter how many new languages we acquire. 

For me, I’ll never let go of my Christian roots (though I’ve tried).

I’m completely immersed in the culture.

The only language I know is that of Christ’s redemption.

Whether I’m speaking the dialect of grace or straining to understand the cadence of judgement as it falls choppy on my resistant ears. 

The dialect of grace undoes our insatiable desire to “know.”

The desire to know spans every culture, religion, and every lonely heart still seeking for answers while longing to be understood.  

I’ll be the first to tell you, I don’t have all the answers about the meaning of grace, even though I’ve done my best to speak it and live it. 

I only have a feeling deep inside me that gently convinces me grace is the language I’m called to speak. 

Meaning of Grace | Choosing Love & Forgiveness

I don’t know what language, religion or dysfunction you grew up speaking.

Even if you’re outside the culture of Christianity, I’m sure your adherence to a set of religious expectations leaves you feeling like you’ll never measure up.

Christianity, is the language through which I express to you God’s spirit of love and forgiveness.

His overwhelming acceptance sees you, complete in your undressed humanity, as a child of the King.

God’s grace means granting equal pardon regardless of race, creed, or orientation.

God’s grace sees you through the eyes of childlike perfection.

No matter how much you may feel like a pauper still trying to find your way in this life, God has reserved a special seat for you based on his loving grace.

God sees you in your original state, prior to partaking of the proverbial fruit that makes you feel less than o.k.

For those who didn’t grow up speaking one of the dialects of Christianity, my analogies about the meaning of grace may seem like a foreign language. 

And for that, I apologize. 

Grace is a Universal Language

But in universal terms, I simply want everyone to feel God’s grace as a sure path to true love. 

You may be highly esteemed on the stage of Christianity with the pressure to present as having it all together to the world.

Perhaps you’re flying under the radar of society’s judgement, secretly ashamed of yourself for not believing enough, being enough, or obeying enough.

Remember, you are loved. God’s grace is sufficient.

There is a place for you right at the center of God’s heart. 

A place of graceful understanding even while facing or having succumb to temptation. 

A forgiving, gracious hand reaches out to dance with your raw being.

Grace looks past the you who is hiding behind names you’ve been called, threats you’ve been hurled, and guilt you’ve buckled underneath. 

This article was written over 10 years ago, during a time when I felt lost and altogether separated from God’s grace.

I will admit to you, that outside of God’s spirit, I still get lost. 

Love goes hand in hand with grace

When I’m not tuned in to God’s grace, I lose my way and find myself straining to make sense of the world’s language. 

The dialect of judgement that seeks revenge, faux equality, violent justice, and shallow approval. 

It feels so good when I have the chance to spend time alone with God. I feel privileged when at times like these, I can escape everything that’s going on in my life and the world around me to experience love and grace.

The opposite of temptation is healing.  The opposite of judgment is grace.

With God’s spirit, there’s healing, peace and contentment.

Want of anything more, fades into the background of God’s grace. 

LoveLifeLinks.com believes you can come to understand the meaning of grace in your life, as an outpouring of love that knows no bounds.

Remember, you can feel love. Anywhere. Anytime. All the time.