We are asked to be ministers of our heavenly Father’s grace to others in response to the abundance of grace bestowed upon us. We will never feel full freedom unless we release others from having to live up to our expectations. Living without an attitude of constant grace deprives us of the delight of living free of others’ false expectations. When we are sluggish to provide mercy for the sins of others, we leave God’s kingdom and put our trust and security in this fickle world.

In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells us an important story that we should pay attention to. A servant is pardoned of an overwhelming debt owing to the king. Rather than accepting the grace bestowed to him and passing it on to others, the servant sought out another servant and choked him until he paid his obligation. When the monarch learns about his servant’s lack of grace, he puts him imprisoned until he pays what he owes. “So also, my heavenly Father will do to each of you,” Jesus continues in verse 35, “if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

We are asked to provide grace to others because of who they are and what they have done, not because of who they are or what they have done. Grace would not be grace if it was based on merit or self-worth. Because no obligation owing to us compares to the tremendous amount of sin paid by Jesus’ sacrifice, we are obliged to extend mercy. There is no wrong that anyone has ever done to us that compares to the quantity of undeserved goodwill we’ve gotten.

We begin to taste the delight of our heavenly Father to greater levels when we show grace to others. We reflect the light of God’s grace into the darkness of a world without second chances when we show mercy to the undeserving. May we emulate our loving Savior rather than the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. May we not follow the patterns of unforgiveness that we see all around us, but instead place our hope in heaven and let go of what the world considers to be our rightful inheritance. May we commit grace scandals that the unbelievers don’t understand and the world can’t explain. May our heavenly Father’s love radiate through us as we rush out to meet the weak and sinful in their hour of need, offering mercy and compassion.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and if I have prophetic powers and know all the mysteries and all the wisdom, and if I have all the faith in the world to move mountains, but I lack love, I am nothing.  If I give away everything I have and give my body to be burned, but I don’t have love, I win nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

As we endeavor to love people with God’s compassion and grace, may we gain everything. May we love beyond what the world comprehends and extend grace far beyond what anyone could reasonably expect. Allow God to fill you with a new revelation of the grace you’ve been shown by spending time in guided prayer. Allow God’s love for others to fill you and today, ask the Holy Spirit to make you a ministry of his divine grace.

Why Do We Require Encouragement?

Because he knows we need it, God instructed that his people encourage one another. “In this world you will have tribulation,” Jesus cautioned in John’s Gospel, before offering much-needed encouragement: “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

We live in a damaged world where everything seems to be pointing us in the direction of selfishness and despair. Our bodies break down, our goals falter, our dreams die, our resolves weaken, and our perspective dims as a result of sin. Suffering 1 Peter 4:12, persecution John 15:20; 2 Timothy 3:12, and all kinds of trials are all guaranteed to us James 1:2-3. People will feel neglected, unimportant, useless, and forgotten if encouragement is missing from a church’s life. God recognizes the need for grace-filled reminders among his people, so he calls us to encourage one another every day until his Son returns Hebrews 3:13.

How Do I Develop The Ability To Encourage Others?

There is no single “correct” method to encourage one another, but here are a few suggestions to get you started:

1. Ask God to give you the ability to encourage others. Ask him to give you a loving heart and the creativity to know how to express it. Ask him to assist you in letting go of self-centeredness and growing in a desire to help others. We may trust that God’s Spirit will teach us how to bless others for his glory and their spiritual good since he delights in assisting his people in obeying his laws.

2. Study Barnabas and pray that God would mould you into someone like him. The early church dubbed Barnabas the “son of encouragement” Acts 4:36. He was the type of guy you’d want to hang out with while serving the Lord. He wasn’t just a spiritual booster; he was a man of strong convictions who wanted to see the church thrive and did everything in his power to make that happen. Solicit from God a heart like Barnabas’ for you and your church.

3. Make daily encouragement a habit. Encouragement comes naturally to some of us, but not to others. Every day, I set a reminder in my calendar to send someone a supportive message, email, text, or phone call. Ask God to give you and your church a heart like Barnabas.

4. Ask God to show you who you should encourage. Request that God bring to mind someone to whom you should reach out. Praying through your church’s membership directory is one way to achieve this.

5. If you’re able, use Scripture. Nothing inspires us more than promises found in God’s Word. Make a list of Scriptures or an excerpt from whatever you read in your daily devotional that God has used to bless you personally.

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