Full of Grace
“Life is not fair.” I hear this statement from my children: “she got more cookies than us”, “she stays up later than me”, “she gets away with everything”. I explain to my girls that life is not fair and we don’t always get what we want or deserve. When I was a child, I had a hard time understanding that same very concept. My younger brother—to me—existed for the sole purpose of beheading my dolls and destroying anything of mine. When I complained to my mom, she gave me the “act your age, he is just a little boy!” speech. It was unfair and I wanted him to get what he deserved—and sometimes I had to take justice into my own hands. As an 8-year-old, I had no concept of what grace was.
When we read through the last events in Jesus’ life we find a common thread in his actions—grace. He spent time with his disciples: washing their dusty feet (John 13:3-5), sharing the last supper (Matt. 26:26-29), keeping them awake to pray with him at the Garden while he prayed to His Father in anguish (Luke 22:45-46), and being betrayed by Judas (Mark 14:44-45). Each time, Jesus shows grace to his oblivious friends.
Once arrested, the injustices began. He went through harsh interrogations, was falsely accused, beaten, whipped, spit on, ridiculed, mocked, convicted, and crucified. Yet, He didn’t resist; He endured it all because of grace. He was full of grace, enough to find the compassion and strength to pray to His Father: “forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He could have snapped His fingers and gotten off that cross, taken justice into His own hands. But His love for us was too big, and His loyalty to His father was undying. Instead, He gave us the most amazing lesson on grace the world has ever received: He laid his life as a ransom for ours.
Life is not fair, and it never will be. I can say that to my children, but what I say even louder is this: because of the fullness of grace in Jesus and its display on the cross, we can freely reflect and give grace to those around us. From His fullness, we have all received grace upon grace (John 1:16).
Erika Eckert
Additional Resources:
Broken Vessels - Hillsong Worship
Amazing Grace
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