“ When you ’ re lit up with love , you make the grace of God a priority when talking to people who don ’ t know him .”
thoughts of revenge . Because God ’ s grace was forming me into the image of Jesus , the Holy Spirit empowered me to offer that grace to my father . Forgiving someone who hurt you doesn ’ t mean that you continue to let them hurt you . Forgiveness means that the person who hurt you no longer lives in your emotions and reactions , no longer reinjures you because you ’ re no longer reliving the pain . Remember , grace is freedom . God graciously gives wounded people a new , grace-formed identity that secures them in the grips of his kindness , empowering them to live and share in his abundant life :
• Grace-formed people have the eyes to see broken , hurting , lost people who need Jesus ’ grace as much as we do . When Jesus rescued me from my mess , I immediately wanted other messy people to meet Jesus too . I felt their pain , I lived their confusion , and I knew their regret . I knew if they could just see Jesus — not religion or a bad a church experience — they , too , would fall in love with him . That ’ s what grace does . It wins your heart and moves your hands to reach others ! When you ’ re lit up with love , you make the grace of God a priority when talking to people who don ’ t know him . Everyone needs grace . No sin is too strong for God ’ s powerful arms of love .
• Grace-formed people exhibit the kindness of grace . God ’ s kindness is what leads people to repentance ( Romans 2:4 ).
We get to bring that kindness to the people we meet because through the gospel of grace , we are “ in Christ ”: our life and his are eternally interwoven in an unbreakable bond of love . When you ’ re lit up with love , you are inviting people into Christ himself . Everything that is true of Jesus becomes true of those who follow him . We approach wounded people with Jesus ’ kindness , letting them know they can come to Jesus as they are — and he will re-create them into a masterpiece ( Ephesians 2:9-10 )!
“ When you ’ re lit up with love , you make the grace of God a priority when talking to people who don ’ t know him .”
• Grace-formed people live differently . They ’ re not caught up in the dysfunctions of our emotionally unwell , weary culture . When you ’ re lit up with love , you live at the pace of grace . Good-News people refuse to live under the tyranny of the urgent . In response to God ’ s invitation of life , we intentionally cultivate healthy rhythms of grace like a day of delight and rest ( Sabbath ), Scripture reading , prayer , community , silence , service , and confession . How we live becomes an act of resistance against consumerism and hustle culture . We offer a non-anxious , peaceful presence that soothes the exhausted souls of those around us ( Galatians 5:22-23 ). A life of peace and emotional health amid
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