Be a good receiver

I have been thinking a lot about grace lately.  You might even say I am obsessed with it.  I wonder what is really is.  Is it really as feminine as we make it sound?  Is it weak?  Am I weak if I need it?  Am I selfish to want it?  I wonder if I really have it.  Do I extend it fairly?  Is grace fair?  Do I get it?  From whom do I get it?  Can I receive it?  Or, more importantly, will I receive it?

That last question is one that I am pondering today.

I am convinced that grace is always available from the Lord.  It is, after all, by grace we have been saved.  So, we have at least received it one time in our life.  But we need it continually.  The Bible is clear on that.  So, are we continually receiving it? 

I think this society teaches us from a young age to not be a receiver.  We are taught to not "need" things such as free gifts.  An example would be last year when we handed out hot chocolate at a Christmas parade (or at least we tried).  SO many people simply would not take it at first (or at all) because they were convinced there were "strings" attached.  (Do you attach strings to the grace God wants to extend through you?  Is grace really grace when there are strings attached?)  We think we can do it ourselves... and then we wonder why we don't have the grace in our lives like so and so does....

Maybe we need to stop and learn how to be a receiver.  Maybe there isn't anything wrong with, or a lack of grace.  Maybe it is about the receiver of it.  A gift, after all is meaningless unless it can be received...

Will you receive it today?