Grace Received, Grace Given

The other day, I got home from work and my beloved dog, Oliver, had had an accident. Suddenly, he wasn't so beloved anymore. I scolded him, and he cowered when I walked past him. Since the weather has been nicer, I've been taking him on a walk with me to get the mail lately. He ran excitedly to the door when he saw me open it, and I nearly said, "You don't deserve it [a walk]!" As I opened my mouth to say it, angry that he had soiled the carpet again and was already over feeling badly, I had a thought:

When I mess up in my life and knew better, is that how the Lord deals with me?

I stopped in my tracks and immediately felt a conviction from the Spirit. Oliver is just a dog, but I can still choose to show him grace because of the grace that's been shown to me. How thankful I was in that moment - and am trying to meditate on being even today - that the Lord doesn't withhold good things from me when I mess up, even (and especially) when I knew better. He's generous and gracious even when I knowingly offend Him and defy what He's asked of me. I'm grateful that the Lord helped me to see this before I tried to shame my dog even more. How good is our God that He convicts us but does not shame us when we sin against His holy name. It makes me think of Ephesians 2:4-10:

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

How much of my desire for Oliver to get his error and feel the need to be down about it (as down as a dog can be) for an extended period of time is based on my own belief that, when I sin, it offends God if I can bounce back quickly? In truth, 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." That means that, when I sin and confess it with a repentant heart, I can feel free not to live under it. I can move on and even be in a good mood, happy to enjoy a blessing the Lord has for me. And Oliver can be excited at the idea of going on a walk.

God is good. By giving me grace and helping me receive it, He helps me to give it away to others, even when they aren't human.

Have you learned lessons about receiving and giving grace this week?