“If you, O Lord, were to heed iniquities, who, O Lord, could persevere?” (Psalm 129:3)
There is a truth that human beings easily forget:
We love receiving grace… but we are often quick to pass judgment.
We want others to understand us when we fall, yet we struggle to understand others when they fall.
We ask God to be patient with our failures, but we sometimes refuse to show that same patience to others.
Yet the Bible reminds us of a powerful reality:
If God treated us with the same harshness with which we sometimes treat others, none of us would be able to stand before Him.
We judge by appearances.
God judges according to truth.
We condemn quickly.
God, however, is longsuffering.
We see the visible action.
God also sees the hidden wounds, the inner battles, the weaknesses, and the secret tears.
How many times have we been forgiven without even realizing the greatness of that forgiveness?
How many times has God spared us when we deserved correction?
The grace of God does not mean that sin is acceptable.
Rather, it reveals that God prefers to save before destroying, to restore before abandoning, and to call people to repentance before executing judgment.
That is why Jesus said:
“For with whatever judgment you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you.”
(Gospel of Matthew 7:2)
The one who truly understands grace becomes more humble.
He stops believing himself to be superior to others.
He remembers that he himself lives by a mercy he does not deserve.
This does not mean closing our eyes to evil.
But it means looking at others with the awareness that we too need God’s patience every single day.
Before condemning someone, let us remember all the times God did not condemn us.
Were it not for the grace of God, we would be lost.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for Your grace and patience toward me.
Teach me not to judge harshly, but to walk in love and mercy.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Apostle Dr Jean-Claude SINDAYIGAYA