At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus entering our world as a baby is a beautiful picture of grace extending down from heaven to us. The angel proclaimed “good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10). A Savior had been born who stepped into our dark, broken world. As we look from the cradle to the cross, we see that “grace and truth came from Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). As we reflect upon God’s favor towards an undeserving world, what does it look like for us to extend grace this Christmas?
Grace is something that God bestows to us; we do not do anything to deserve it at all. Without the grace of God, we would stay dead in sin and have no hope and no reconciliation to Him. Grace is described as a gift which justifies us before God through the redemption that is in Jesus (Romans 3:24). It is only by His blood that we are pardoned from sin, forgiven, and set free. More than that, He willingly – not begrudgingly – extends this grace to us. However, like any gift we may open this holiday season, will we receive it with joy and thanksgiving, or disappointment and ungratefulness? Here are seven ways to extend grace this Christmas:
Before we extend grace to others, it is worth spending time with the Lord reminding ourselves of His grace to us. It is all because of Jesus that we can now come before the Father, forgiven for our sins and reconciled to Him. Christmas is a busy time where a lot of competing pressures can try and prevent us from reflecting upon the real meaning of why we celebrate. A Savior has been born and He is with us by His Spirit today. We can come to Him knowing that we can find rest for our souls, as His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30).
We can be confident in drawing near to the throne of grace to receive grace and mercy to help us (Hebrews 4:16). We need to go back to the source of grace which is God Himself. It is a beautiful privilege to be able to continually keep coming to Him, knowing He will help and enable us to extend grace to others. We are strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1).
Christmas often means getting together with groups of people whom we may struggle to get along with. It can fill us with a sense of dread or anxiety having to mingle with a whole bunch of people with their different views, expectations, and traditions.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “death and life are in the power of the tongue and our words can be used for harm or for encouraging and building up the hearer. Another great verse in Proverbs on the power of words is “a soft (gentle) answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). We can extend grace by choosing to answer people gently, rather than in a harsh manner. Grace is also given to the hearers when we use words that edify them: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
We have all been given unique gifts by God and we are entrusted to use them to serve others. In 1 Peter 4:10 it says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” We have a responsibility to use the gifts we have as good stewards. It is God’s grace that gives us the gifts that we have, whether spiritual or otherwise, so we are to extend that grace we have received from God and freely give it to others (Matthew 10:8).
Jesus chose not to count equality with God as something to be grasped, but humbled Himself and took on the role of a servant, being born in human likeness (Philippians 2:7). God came into our world and laid aside any sense of what He was entitled to as Lord and King over all.
It is easy to have a sense of entitlement of what we think we deserve this Christmas. We may even go so far to compare our Christmas celebrations with those around us, or risk boasting about all the different things we have been up to. Yet, God gives us more grace. He gives grace to the humble, therefore we should submit ourselves to Him in humility (James 4:6-7). In humility, we are to value others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3). If we follow Jesus and His example, we too should humble ourselves this Christmas, looking to serve others in love and grace.
In James 1:19 we are urged to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. There is always a temptation to have our voices heard and defend our views first. We do this from infancy when we want our own way! Sin is a deep-rooted problem within us, and we need God’s grace to navigate the tricky interactions we may experience at Christmas and throughout our life.
It is worth remembering that we do not always know what someone is experiencing fully or why they may think, believe or act a certain way. In Colossians 4:6 it says, “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” A good starting point for putting this in action is to be a good listener. Following this, there is no need to rush in with our opinion or stubbornness. We are called to be slow to speak and slow to get angry. Our default position should be “always full of grace.”
Perhaps someone has wronged and grieved us deeply. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Let Him speak to the deepest parts of the soul and be the one to minister gently, softening our hearts and giving us the grace to get through whatever circumstance we are facing. As far as it is possible, we should strive to live at peace with all (Romans 12:18). We are called to forgive as our heavenly Father has forgiven us (Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32). As we are merciful to others, we will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7). This does not mean that it is easy to do, but we obey and trust that the Lord will deal with the wrong done to us as we follow His command to forgive.
In Hebrews 12:15 it exhorts us to “see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” There is a warning that we could fail to obtain God’s grace through bitterness, which can cause trouble and affect many others around us. This is a challenge, especially as it is very natural to share our hurts and anger with others. Take it to the Lord in prayer first and then maybe carefully choose someone who is walking closely with Jesus to pray with and support you through it.
This Christmas, let’s pray that no root of bitterness will spring up as we look to Jesus to freely receive His loving grace. He will enable us to be strengthened by His power as we trust Him with our battles.
Christmas is a wonderful time to seek the Lord afresh, receiving new mercies that God provides at the start of a new day (Lamentations 3:22-23). We are told to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). We can extend grace to others as we continually grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus as we stay firmly planted and rooted in His Word.
As we have received His mercy and grace in our lives, we can testify to His grace by sharing the gospel with others. Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to do so, but it is not the only possibility. God’s grace to us is available every day, and believers are co-workers in sharing this hope always. Let us extend this invitation to those that God puts in our path this season, knowing that “by grace [we] have been saved through faith; and that not of [ourselves], it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
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