Guilt and Grace

Grace is a tough concept for me. I think knowing I'm a sinner - painfully so - occasionally has me wallowing in guilt (my husband would say 'fairly often' is more accurate) . . . . thing is, it's self-induced guilt and not always godly repentance. That's a whole 'nother story and blog entry, but it's a pattern I'm increasingly aware of and working to address. It's kind of like I try to use the 'guilt' of knowing I've 'failed' to motivate me. It doesn't work, and I end up very discouraged. In light of this, I really liked what I read a few weeks ago.

This experience--from guilt to gratitude--has been teaching me something about God. I used to think that guilt prompted us to repent and turn towards God. This may be true at times, but I don't think guilt can sustain a relationship with God, and I don't think it is meant to. Guilt implies that I could have done things differently, that the offense is entirely my fault and I could have controlled the situation in such a way to produce a more effective result. But gratitude... gratitude recognizes my limitations. Recognizes my lack of control. Recognizes that, whether or not I deserve it, I have been given something good.

I don't mean to say that I'm not responsible for the bad choices I've made or the sins I've committed. All I'm trying to say is that if guilt brings me to God, it's gratitude that keeps me there. Gratitude is a response that takes the attention off of me and puts it onto the giver. Guilt reflects the depth of my own depravity, but gratitude reflects the goodness of God. (To read the entire entry, click here.)

Gratitude to put it simply flows from knowing and experiencing God's grace.