The Promise of Grace
By Tyler K. Bender
Tyler is from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He is a graduating senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and currently is a journalism/marketing intern for ecumininet™ online! Tyler has a passion for writing and music and considers the ability to communicate through words on paper and in music as a gift from God. He is interested in the deeper side of life and enjoys the diversity of all God’s people. He feels like he is being “sharpened,” most when he is asking tough questions to people whose beliefs are different from his own.

I have a hard time looking at life and being content with the simple things. I often find myself taking opportunities, gifts, people, and promises for granted. I count on tomorrow to get work done that needs to be done today. Unless I am extremely passionate about something, I usually have to take my own time to warm up to ideas or jobs that come my way.

In the season of giving and the time of year where receiving seems like it is more prevalent, I always catch myself conforming to the selfishness that seems to overtake our culture during Christmas. I am always inhaling the gifts of life without giving thought to be thankful most times.

I have been fortunate enough to spend 2-3 weeks with my family in Florida every year since I was a kid. I was raised in Indiana, and to my family, the image of a warm sunny Christmas was as “holiday spirit filled” as most people’s image of a white one. I have come to expect the time with my family to be in Florida. Every year I count on resting on a beach or touring the canals and inner coastal from a boat to view the brilliant colors of Christmas lights on the waterfront homes. If this time didn’t occur annually, I have found myself wondering if I would be disappointed in Christmas altogether.

I think it is okay for me to enjoy times like Christmas vacations and relish in time spent with my family. However, when blessings become expectations and gifts become presumptions, I need to evaluate the true spirit of the season by taking a look at promises that I need to be grateful for rather than continuing to overlook. I need to analyze what needs to be most important in my life during times like Christmas.

I always start is with the idea of “grace.” How many times a day have I taken the grace of God for granted? A true promise! And I fall short in being grateful. I don’t even think that I appreciate what grace is even when I try to comprehend what it actually means. Brennan Manning writes in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel that “the word itself, grace, has become trite and debased through misuse and overuse,” * in our society and culture today.

If I did appreciate and accept the promise of grace, I can only imagine how I would live my life differently. I wouldn’t allow myself to get discouraged with miniscule things of life. I wouldn’t find myself full of rage with my shortcomings. I would be more appreciative of my gifts that I often consider curses. I could for once in my life take pleasure in my identity instead of dwelling on the panic of what seems to be life’s chaos. I could rest in my dependence instead of fading into my inadequacies and my insecurities. If I just think about the phrase or meaning of “God has promised me grace,” I feel strong enough to exhale.

It is quite ironic to understand that I am independent but I am also claimed and that is what forms my identity. If I can just grasp the fact that I am claimed, I would naturally be thankful for that promise. I would enjoy the feeling of being accepted regardless of how often I am selfish or how little I recognize my true identity.

My true identity is that of an angel with a tilted halo or an imperfect person trying to present himself to a God that has promised him grace and prepared a path leading to Him without wearing cosmetics or masks. It wouldn’t even matter anymore of what I thought of myself or how others thought of me if I could acknowledge my true identity. I am accepted. I will always be accepted. It is God’s promise.

I want to be able to be thankful for the eternal promise of grace. I want to accept the promise and become satisfied in the beauty of forgiveness. It is the essence of Christianity. It is the reason Jesus appeals to me. Being thankfully forgiven is my true identity this holiday season.

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