Grace to Embrace

By Cindy Martin –

Gifts have been opened, food has been consumed, diets have been started, mistletoe has dried up, and New Year’s resolutions have been promised and some already broken. Kinda’ sounds like a Charlie Brown Christmas review, doesn’t it?

The start of a new year can bring both anticipation and dread. Some folks can hardly wait to see what amazing adventures are waiting to be had in the coming months while others live in a paralyzing web of “what ifs”.

I suspect most of us live somewhere in between fear and exhilaration; simply asking God to give us grace to embrace whatever He has for us in 2014. What if that grace to embrace actually included embracing someone new in your life?

We’ve often heard that the holidays are a very lonely time and indeed they can be without close connections with family or friends to share the season with. But I would suggest that without meaningful connections in our lives, life can be extremely lonely all year long. Jesus teaches and models throughout the pages of Scripture that we were designed to live in community. He celebrated, wept, worked, rested and pursued His life’s mission in the context of other people. While He did spend precious time alone with His Father, the bulk of His time was spent “doing life” with people; simply showing them how to live life the way God designed.

In John 15:15 Jesus tells us, “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (NIV).

I would suggest that the fulfillment that so many of us are seeking in our lives can be experienced as we follow the model Christ set out for us. Is there someone in your circle of influence or acquaintance that God is calling you to come alongside and include in both the memorable and mundane moments of your life?

Perhaps there’s someone for whom you could share the wisdom of experience you’ve had in life and in God’s Word that would propel them forward in their own faith journey. Such relationships may not always be convenient and might even get messy at times but God promises that His “grace is sufficient” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

To know that you have been used by Almighty God to facilitate transformation in someone else’s life is not only an amazing privilege, it is a sure path to a life of contentment, gratitude and joy. Why settle for anything less?

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, show me who by Your power and grace, You are asking me to come alongside and embrace.”