God of Grace

Have you ever looked at someone else's life and wished you had what they have? 

We do it all the time, especially in the age of social media. From the outside looking in, someone else's life can always be a temptation to us. They have a nicer car, a better-looking spouse, a stronger community, a more vibrant church, a deeper faith, a more prominent job, a fatter bank account. I tell you, we look at those photos, and their grass really does look greener. 

How did they get their yard looking so nice? 

It's tempting, but as we all know, the pictures only tell part of the story. The story only tells part of the story. The things they say, the things they share, the things they decide the world can see are only a fraction of their lived existence, and the truth is that everyone has their struggles. And while you're busy looking at their life and wishing for what they have, they're busy looking at yours and wishing the same. 

It seems almost unimaginable to those of us living our own lives. How could anyone look at this and think they want it? In our tougher seasons, it doesn't make sense. But it's true. Because perspective is everything, and each of us feels like we're missing something...because we are. But that thing we feel like we're missing is different for each of us, so we end up just envying each other and wanting what looks like that last missing piece. 

Want to know the secret truth about all of this? 

The last missing piece for all of us is exactly the same. The trick is accepting it. 

We could get together and swap pieces of our lives until each of us has what we think we wanted, and it wouldn't do us any good. We would still feel like something was missing...because something would still be missing. We weren't made to have our lives complete, not this side of Eden. 

That missing piece that we're always searching for...is grace. And it only comes from the God who loves us. And it always comes from the God who loves us. 

Peter calls us all "heirs of the gracious gift of life" (3:7). In other words, we are all recipients of God's grace, and He has given us exactly the same amount of it - a full measure. 

A measure that pours down into our cracks and fills them up to wholeness. A measure that makes up for what this broken world leaves us lacking. A measure that reminds us that there's something so good about God that none of the troubles we face even stand a chance. 

A measure that makes our grass greener. Truly. 

We just have to be willing to look around our own lives and see it. 

So there's the challenge - what has God's grace done for you? Where do you see the full measure of it poured out in your life? What have you inherited through it?

Do you see the goodness? It's already here, right where you are.