“Grace misunderstood will always result in
jealousy.” (Ravi
Zacharias)
I heard this quote this week and it really went
deep inside and pierced something in my heart. Then, conviction came à I do that. Better yet,
I am doing that…
You see,
I have had a bit of a struggle lately with jealousy. And, I really didn’t
understand why. I couldn’t come up with a good “reason” why I felt jealous.
And, on some level, I think I didn’t really care. This person had hurt me, hurt
my feelings, and I was angry, still…
After I
heard this quote, and felt the conviction that applied to my situation, I began
to dig a little deeper. What in the world does it mean to “misunderstand”
grace? I read and studied Scripture, looked up some particular word meanings,
and prayed for the Lord to reveal to me what I needed to do to correct this
problem. The only thing I have been able to come up with… unforgiveness.
When
people hurt us, or at least when they hurt me, I think unforgiveness can be the
largest temptation. And, if I hold onto that unforgiveness, it is unlikely that
I will understand or agree with the grace offered by others, and maybe even the
grace offered to them by God.
Grace,
in the Old Testament, comes for a root word that means, “to act graciously or
mercifully toward someone; to be compassionate”. It is God’s unmerited favor.
And since He gives that grace (and forgiveness) to me, who in the world do I
think I am to withhold it from someone else? And, if I continue to hold onto my
hurt feelings and unforgiveness, will the Lord forgive me? His Word says not…
(Matthew 6:14).
I think
one of the hardest things for me to learn during this process is that, no
matter how good a job I think I am doing at keeping all these struggles a
secret, I really can’t. This stuff will come out one way or another because,
after all, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew
12:34).
So, I
encourage you as I begin myself, examine your heart for unforgiveness,
jealousy, grace misunderstood. And, in the process may we continually be
working towards a higher level of righteousness à
towards being like the One who has saved us…
