I used to hate math.
Not because it was hard or took too long to finish but because nothing agitated me more than getting an answer wrong. When I messed up, I would sulk. Sometimes for hours.
Petty? Yes. True? Also yes.
I thought I had failed. I wanted to quit math—and maybe even all of school.
My negativity slipped into other areas of my schoolwork until one day when I told myself it was okay to get one problem wrong. One problem wouldn’t make me a failure and wasn’t a big deal because I’m not perfect. In other words, I offered myself grace.
That day, I did get a question wrong. But weirdly enough, I didn’t stare at it for hours.
The voices in my head didn’t tell me that I was a failure, a terrible person, or that I could never get one hundred percent again.
I hadn’t forced myself to be perfect—something that I’m not—and I didn’t allow the disappointment to ruin my day.
I was free.
I was free to move on, unashamed, and learn from the small mistake.
Everyone Falls
When children learn to walk, how often do they fall? Once, twice, or way more than that?
Until we fail, we don’t know what grace looks like. And we all fall—once, twice, but usually way more than that. And grace, like the child’s parent, is ready to catch us when we fall yet gives us the free will to learn on our own.
Romans 3:23 is clear that everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. John 3:16 says that God loved us enough to give His Son. Ephesians 2:8 explains that salvation is a gift from God. These are fundamental verses for nonbelievers to become brothers and sisters in Christ.
But what about when you’re a Christian and still fall short? What catches you then?
Grace, again and again. Grace is the safety net, the life vest, and the harness.
Sin tempts even the “best” Christians. Resisting its pull can become a tedious task.
Paul, a man who chose to devote his life to God after a miraculous conversion, wasn’t perfect. In Romans 7, the apostle expressed his failures and desire to change.
You will fall. And when you do, grace will catch you. We aren’t perfect—but because of God’s grace, we are safe.
Without Grace, There is No Salvation
We can’t climb, build, or dig out of the pit our sins dug.
Yet if salvation is the rope, and love lets it down, grace makes it long enough to reach us and strong enough to carry the baggage.
Our shortcomings, failures, and brokenness no longer matter because grace threw away our punishment.
Grace makes us bolder in our faith because we know that it can always catch us no matter what we do or where we go. It gives you freedom from the law (Romans 6:14) so you can love God and people better.
Where would we be without grace?
I still don’t like math much. I still fall into sin. I still need grace. I think everyone does.
But that’s the beautiful thing about my Savior—He doesn’t condemn us (John 8:10–11). He doesn’t hold us so close that we aren’t allowed to fall. But, like the good and loving Father He is, He’ll pick us back up.
Every time we fall.
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