But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. Romans 5:15 (NKJV)
It is a testimony to our sinful condition without Christ that it is so very glorifying to Him to be our Savior. This is difficult to explain…we are sooo bad, and sooo hopeless, that redeeming us only makes God look better!
Do you remember the passage that says, (Romans 5:7) “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die?” The verse preceding that says, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
He died to save the Ungodly, not the self-righteous or the religious, nor the deserving. He did not save you or me because we are so great, or because He needs us. We are not given grace because we are special or worthy. Grace is given to us because it glorifies God to do so.
What a marvelous thing it is that God chooses to bring Himself glory by saving our sorry selves! He demonstrates grace to us because He is holy and cannot tolerate our sinfulness. Make no mistake, we are sinful!
Our ungodliness is the reason we need grace unto salvation. We are completely and totally unworthy of what we have received. It is in seeing our unworthiness that we can begin to have a glimpse of just exactly why we are to demonstrate grace to those who have hurt us so deeply. They don’t deserve our grace anymore than we deserve God’s grace so it is in giving to the undeserving what we have benefited from that we are most like Christ.
If you have a painful relationship and display grace to someone who is undeserving of it, please understand that it may not make one bit of difference in how you are treated by them or even what the response is from that person. That is totally not the point! The result will be you’re experiencing true freedom. In spite of the rotten way you may continue to be treated you will see God working in your own life.
This will demand that you get the focus off of you and how you feel and onto what God is doing in your heart and life as you step out in faith and obedience to the call of Christ.
Remember: the goal is not to end the suffering but to glorify God as you are suffering.