Receiving Grace

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

I celebrated a birthday this week. Friends and family showered me all kinds of gifts--some wonderful, some practical, and some whimsical! But I can assure you I accepted each and every one of them with gratitude.

It hasn't always been easy to accept gifts from others, however.

Seven years ago my wife had surgery for breast cancer. It was a stressful time and I wanted everything to be kept as normal as possible so that our children would be able to cope with the trauma we were facing as a family. Friends and family generously offered to help us in a variety of ways, from bringing us home-cooked meals to ironing our laundry. I was overwhelmed by this outpouring of generosity, but I resisted at first. I wanted to be seen as strong, and capable, and the anchor that was holding the family together.

Then one day a friend said something that really got my attention. It went something like this.

"Gale, we need to be blessed by the opportunity to be able to give to you, as much as you need to receive."

All of a sudden it hit me--they were offering me their gifts of grace and I was hesitating to receive them! And then another thought hit me--a very troubling one. Was I finding it just as difficult to receive the gift of grace that God was trying to offer me? I had been in a profession where it was my job to meet the needs of others (or so I thought), and I was not accustomed to receiving help from those who wanted to meet my needs. Was I shutting out God's grace by the same hesitancy to receive it?

Rather than teaching about grace, I learned a powerful and valuable lesson about grace that day. Grace is a gift to be received.

I hope that today, and every day, you'll be able to receive grace.