A Favourable Disposition

 "Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky."
- Fredrick Lehman

I have had this song running through my head for awhile, but for even longer I have been thinking deeply about the love of God. It is such a big topic that I never feel I can broach it, and yet when I was singing this song in my head the other day, I realized; “I am just one of those scribes, who is writing just one idea at a time.” . . . So I have been dwelling on one teeny weeny facet of God’s love this week that I would like to share with you.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger, and rich in love.” (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 145:8) God’s love is full of grace. He sees the best in us, he looks past mistakes. He doesn’t see us as the pathetic sad people we are, but sees as in the best light possible. All because of His love. 

The root word for grace in Hebrew implies displaying a favourable disposition toward someone. How fantastic to be seen by God this way! I am challenged in my pursuit of loving others with God’s love to find parallels here.

For me to look on others with grace and love looks a little different than for God. God has the benefit of seeing peoples’ hearts and judging intentions and loving them despite that. As humans, we don’t have this ability. I may never know the intentions of others, but I still need to offer grace to those around me. 

How does this look?

With those I know, it is allowing them to be human. Allowing them to make the same mistakes I would want them to show me grace for. 

It’s allowing someone to have a different opinion or way of doing things than the way I think is “absolutely right.”

For those I don’t know, being loving and gracious starts in my thought life. Instead of assuming the person in front of me cut me off, I work on my loving heart, by allowing the possibility that maybe they didn’t actually do it on purpose. (novel thought)

Instead of being annoyed at the attitude of a waitress or salesperson, I can recognize that they might be having a bad day, or going through things I can’t imagine. Patience is a great way of showing grace.
Instead of seeing the world through the eyes of how each person influences me, I need to learn to see the world for what could be happening in their life. 

God has a favourable disposition toward us. Do we have one towards others? Today I challenge you to think about other ways you can show people love with grace. Take a second to think about your go to thoughts and perceptions of people. Are they full of love and grace?!?

Kourtnay K.