Opinion/Resources/Teen Perspective 

By Teen Opinion Contributor Maggie Verdught

Photo: Deposit

If you’re like me, and you grew up in the church, you heard the word “grace” a lot. In fact, that word is still frequently used, as anyone who attends a Bible-believing church will know!

As a reminder – for both you and me – grace is not only a pardon for sin, but an undeserved gift along with that merciful kindness. 

Wow. Can anything be more astounding than that? The power of the gospel is real! Every time I remind myself of what it truly means, or someone speaks the Word into my hearing, I am amazed. A perfect God that gave his children something we did not and will never deserve: eternal life and joy in Him. That is amazing grace, indeed. 

In this article, I want to list some of the thoughts I have about grace and what it means, put into context in our own lives. 

We struggle to give grace to ourselves

Yep, everyone can relate to this! Sometimes I make a mistake and can’t forgive myself for it. Or, I make a big mistake, and I can’t stop thinking about it and obsessing over what I could have done differently. We humans often struggle to give our own selves grace.

I am a perfectionist. I also rely a lot on validation from others. Additionally, I’m not super organized, so when I don’t understand something or have a plan already made, I have to ask others for help. Oftentimes, I don’t like asking for help– who does? I am a very independent person. I like to have my plan, execute that plan perfectly, and feel the satisfaction and pride that comes from having been successful. This, however, is unrealistic most of the time. It puts Maggie first instead of glorifying God first.

My self-awareness can be both a blessing and a curse, because I consistently beat myself up over my failures. Instead of simply recognizing that I was sinning, and I need to turn back to God, who will forgive me, I find myself falling deeper into a pit of self-absorption and self-hatred. I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but let this truth encourage you: God is not far away. He sees everything and still loves you unconditionally.

Maybe you feel like you are continually failing at something or not measuring up to a standard you set for yourself. I’ve certainly felt that way before. But God is not done with you. He sees everything you are going through– the little things and the big things, the daily grind, and He wants to have a personal relationship with you. Lean into that. God gives us such immeasurable grace; how can we not give our own selves grace when He has done so for all of us? Give yourself grace and gentleness today, friend, because you know that He has given it to us first. Jesus paid the cost for our sin already. Hallelujah that we don’t have to live in it anymore!

We struggle to give grace to others

In addition to being a perfectionist, I’m also pretty legalistic sometimes. When I have a specific vision in mind, or a certain plan, I want that plan to be carried out perfectly in the way I intended! I bring this up because I also struggle in giving grace to others. My family bears the brunt of this, mostly, because I often have high standards for my parents and siblings. I know this because my parents have told me before not to be so hard on them. That’s when I have to take a step back and realize, “Wow, I have been kind of harsh and hard on others today. I need to give everyone some grace.” This usually happens unintentionally – I get so caught up in my own little world (being hard on myself) – and then I don’t have enough capacity to be gracious to others.

I have such high expectations for myself, that when I fail at something, and are in the middle of beating myself up about it, I push that disappointment and frustration onto others. I must remind myself that God has given grace to everyone. And it is undeserved! Not one of us is deserving of God’s grace and kindness. Before Jesus stepped in, our sin eternally separated us from Him. Ephesians 2:8-10 rings true: 

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” As we strive to be more like Christ, we must recognize the importance of giving grace to others, relying on God to help us do so.

Conclusion

Everything should transform for us when we live in the light of God’s grace. It is not always easy, but necessary for us to give ourselves and others grace, because Christ has given it to us first. We are not enslaved to our sin any longer; as children of God, we are meant to live and walk in freedom that comes by grace through faith. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” – Romans 3:23-24

***

The opinions in this article are specific to its author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire Counter Culture Mom team. 

*

Maggie VerDught is a high school student who enjoys learning about culture, news, and politics.

She is passionate about sharing the truth, especially with her generation. Maggie loves to run, read, and write poetry in her spare time.

Download Our New Counter Culture Mom App to get our trending news and pop culture alert notifications. Connect with other parents in the Parent Chat section to gain helpful ideas on how to counteract the Pop Culture Cult!

Be sure to contact us if there is an issue you would like to have us write about! Our mission is to help parents deal with today’s lifestyle trends and how to biblically navigate them.