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Christian Living grace

#shareHisgrace

It’s always polite to share.

Photo by Gary Fultz on Unsplash

After I posted recently about the importance of being kind to others, Barb, from My Life in Our Father’s World , commented with the following hashtag: #shareHisgrace.

While my piece spotlighted the usefulness of people cultivating the good, Barb shined a floodlight on where to find it in its purest form.

Thank you, friend, for bringing the focus back where it belongs—on God. You added to the value of my thoughts exponentially.

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides You.

Psalm 16:2 (NASB)

This collaborative experience with a fellow believer jogged my memory about a true story of two people who showed uncommon grace to each other. It happened at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Sueo Oe (left) and Shuhei Nishida – source Wikipedia, copyright unknown

Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Oe were two Japanese pole vaulters tied for second place at the summer games. However, as good friends and teammates, they declined to compete against each other (in a jump off) to decide between the silver and the bronze. So the silver was awarded to Nashida and the bronze to Oe, based on the fact that Nashida cleared the height in fewer attempts.

However, when they returned home to Japan, the two athletes did something extraordinary. They had a jeweler cut each of their medals in half and splice together two new ones—half silver and half bronze. They called these creations “Medals of Friendship.”

Source, Wikipedia – copyright unknown

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in it’s various forms.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

A Few Observations

  • It’s God’s gift, not mine — the two athletes valued their friendship more than competition.
  • It’s not MY grace, either — they demonstrated this by committing to something larger than themselves.
  • God’s grace comes in different flavors — the Medals of Friendship were a unique way to show the true depth of their relationship.

My collaboration with Barb (and other believers, on and off-line) reminds me that our life in Christ is a shared experience. We are many members, but ONE body (Romans 12:4-5).

I like to call this interconnection “3 Makes 2”

You and me, with Jesus at the top of the triangle.

Walk in the wisdom of God as you live before the unbelievers, and make it your duty to make Him known. Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity. For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.

Colossians 4:4-5 (TPT)

#shareHisgrace

By davidsdailydose

I'm just a regular guy who was
tempted to lose all hope but did not. It was God who made the difference.

36 replies on “#shareHisgrace”

I love the picture of the fused medals. It makes me think of the crowns we receive in heaven one day. As we chase the greater prize, namely the fellowship with Jesus and others, all we earn is eventually only given back to the One who created us. You encouraged me today, David. THANK YOU!

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Gracias, Gary. I’ve been looking for a post to use one of your excellent pictures. The light coming through the cloud reminds me that God is always able to shine through any circumstance.

Though many of us have not met in person, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit still applies.

Blessings.

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Our life in Christ is a shared experience- I really like that. The tendency is usually to make it about oneself. And the story you shared about the two athletes valuing their friendship above competition is truly commendable.

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I love stories like that David. They challenge me. I often think of how the “One another’s” of scripture work in the blogging community. That is fun to see. When I saw the hole in the clouds fill with a golden ray on the barren tree, for that picture, I was identifying with the tree. God often uses each other to shed his light and warmth when we need him. Glad someone could use that picture.

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Shared experience. Community. That is indeed what being Christian is about. Going to church is an important, even critical part of being in our community of faith. Some people think they can be Christian in isolation. They can, but their faith is put in a precarious position, because they have no one supporting them in moments of doubt and trial. This is why St. Paul urged his churches to gather together to sing psalms, pray, and worship.

More to your point, the community corrects and teaches each other. An isolated Christian may be in error on something and will continue in that error without someone to provide correction. And, as you’ve said, steel sharpens steel. We cannot grow in our faith in isolation, because we don’t have someone to help instruct us on things we do not perceive.

Good read, David!

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In the competitive, me first culture in which we live, it is so very refreshing to read “My collaboration with Barb (and other believers, on and off-line) reminds me that our life in Christ is a shared experience. We are many members, but ONE body (Romans 12:4-5).” Christ’s ways are counter cultural and for that I am so grateful. Thank you David for sharing the beautiful story of Nushida and Oe and for the encouragement to live as part of the Body of Christ by sharing His grace.

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