on Grace

I've been reading a book called "What's So Amazing About Grace," by Phillip Yancey. I've been thoroughly enjoying it, and highly recommend this title. In the chapter I was reading last night, the following paragraphs stood out:

"I believe that dispensing God's grace is the Christian's main contribution. As Gordon McDonald said, the world can do anything the church can do except one thing: it cannot show grace. In my opinion, Christians are not doing a very good job of dispensing grace to the world..."

"Jesus did not let any institution interfere with his love for individuals. Jewish racial and religious policies forbade him to speak with a Samaritan woman, let alone one with a checkered moral background; Jesus selected one as a missionary. His disciples included a tax collector, viewed as a traitor by Israel, and also a Zealot, a member of the super-patriot party. He praised the countercultural John the Baptist. He met with Nicodemus, an observant Pharisee, and also with a Roman centurion. he dined in the home of another Pharisee named Simon and also in the home of an "unclean" man, Simon the leper. For Jesus, the person was more important than any category or label."

Perhaps this excerpt loses loses impact when isolated from its surrounding pages, but for me it rang especially true. Christians should be known by their spirit of love, not judgment. After all, it was love's triumph over judgment that made a way of salvation for us all.