1 Peter 4:10-11 Varied Grace

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. 1 Peter 4:10-11

Varied Grace. This means that this gift of grace looks different for other people. My grace may not be the same as yours. One may have “more” than another, but does that mean that they are are a better person or a better christian? Absolutely not! The beauty of grace is that is a a gift and not of which is earned. Should I hate my brother because of the gifts the Lord has given him? No. should I look down on another because my grace “appears” to be better? No. when we do these things we are demeaning the gifts of the Lord (and those are dangerous waters to tread in).

This past summer I had a friend bring this up to me. She is in college and so are her friends. Most of her friends work and pay for their own school. She does not. Her friends are blessed that they have jobs and can pay for school. She is blessed that her parents said they would pay for hers. They also told her that she did not need a job at this point in her life they just wanted her to focus on school. Well her friends would make comments to her like “we could do this or that if we didn't have to work either.” These comments make it sound like they are better than her, or more mature, or more responsible. Is that true? No. Their lives just look different. Those that are working are able to pay for school and have a ministry to their coworkers. My friend, on the other hand, was able to be apart of other ministries that her friends could not be apart of because she was not tied down to a job. Is one better than the other? Is she irresponsible because she does not have a job? No. Just because someone is at a different stage in life does not mean that they are better or that they have in some way earned it. The Lord brings us to different places at different times. This all works withing his timing, and in His will.

Our grace looks different. Instead of looking at others lives and picking out where they are deficient, let us seek to look for the grace in their life. Praise God we all have grace. We need to begin to search our lives for the grace that is given to us and search the lives of our brothers and sisters to see their varied grace. After all, the verse continues by saying that it is all to glorify God through Jesus. If we look at our grace as something to glorify ourselves then we have completely missed the point, and I would venture to say we are in sin.

So the challenge I see in this scripture is first, to seek out the grace in our brothers and sisters and rejoice in that. Second, we need to use our grace to glorify our father who is in heaven.
Now, I understand that there is more to this scripture than just what I have written about, but I will write about that another day :)