Pag-ingatan ninyong huwag tumalikod ang sinuman sa inyo sa pag-ibig ng Diyos. Huwag kayong magtanim ng sama ng loob na dahil dito’y napapasamâ ang iba.

Mga Hebreo 12:15.

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:15 NIV). Sadly, many have “missed the grace of God” dahil na-stumble sila sa Christians o na-“burn” sila sa church.

In an interview, sinabi ni Gandhi, “I like your Christ, but not your Christianity.” Also, “The Christians are the most war-like people.” Aray! Sadly, Christians can be the most judgmental, self-righteous, hypocritical people in the world.

Pero ‘di ba Christians have been “saved by grace”? (Ephesians 2:8). Dahil recipients tayo ng grace, shouldn’t we also freely give it away?

Clear and simple ang translation ni Eugene Peterson ng Hebrews 12:15. “Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity” (The Message). Posible ba ito? It is, if we realize that all of us have rebelled against our Creator. That’s what SIN is, and guilty tayong lahat! But by God’s grace, through Jesus’ death on the Cross, we received forgiveness from sin. In the same way that God dealt with us graciously by forgiving our sins, we also are to extend that grace to others by forgiving them.

We say we’re saved by grace, then let us continue to live with grace. Kung boss ka, how do you deal with your subordinates? Paano mo tinatrato ang kasambahay mo? Kung business owner ka, how do you relate with your employees? As a customer, how do you treat the saleslady, or waiter, or security guard? According to Ephesians 4:29, how we speak to people can be a reflection of how gracious we are.

Grace is evident when we speak the truth in love. Sometimes sobrang passionate natin to prove na mali ang belief system ng iba instead of sharing the Good News. We engage in theological debates instead of dialogues. Anuman ang pinag-uusapan, whether it’s the Bible, or politics, human rights, o SOGIE, let’s not burn bridges but seek to tell the truth in love.

 “Sapagkat nahayag na ang kagandahang-loob [grace] ng Diyos na nagdudulot ng kaligtasan sa lahat ng tao” (Tito 2:11). Huwag sana tayo maging stumbling block sa kaligtasan ng iba at sa paglago nila kay Cristo.