The Community Ministry

Weekly Message: Grace – Understanding Each Other

June 10, 2025 

We live in a world where there is conflict all around us. Whether it is differences in the sports teams we cheer on, competition for the jobs we pursue, or the political candidates we support, it seems we are always able to find reasons why we can’t get along with each other.  How often do we find ourselves in moments of friction, misunderstanding, or even outright conflict with those around us? It might be a family member, a colleague, a neighbor, or even someone we encounter online. In these moments, it’s easy to retreat, to judge, to build walls. But what if there was a different path? What if we had the opportunity to interact with each other through grace and understanding?

Those of us who are believers in Jesus are given grace, unmerited favor, and are loved by God. God’s love is given to us not because we earned it, but simply because He loves us. It’s the ultimate act of generosity, forgiveness, and patience. Jesus paid our sin debt by sacrificing His life, so that we could be forgiven. If we have been given grace, then we are called to be also givers of grace. To show grace means to offer patience when someone is difficult, to forgive when we’ve been wronged, to give someone the benefit of the doubt even when our initial impulse is to condemn. It means choosing kindness over criticism and empathy over accusation. It’s not about condoning harmful actions, but about recognizing the humanity in every person, just as God recognizes it in us.

Understanding is more than just listening.  It is listening with the heart, seeking to grasp the full context of another person’s reality. We live in a world that often encourages quick judgments, sound bites, and us-versus-them mentalities. But true understanding asks more of us. It asks us to pause, to listen intently, and to consider what experiences have shaped this person, what fears might they be carrying, what hopes do they hold, and what God might be doing in their life.  It requires us to set aside our own assumptions and biases, even just for a moment, and step into someone else’s shoes. When we approach others with a genuine desire to understand, we begin to dismantle the walls that separate us. We start to see not just a label or an opinion, but a complex human being who in many respects is just like us.

There is no better example of this than the Apostle Peter.  Born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, Peter was a fisherman by trade, working alongside his brother Andrew.  As one of Jesus’ inner circle, often grouped with James and John, Peter was a frequent witness to Jesus’ miracles, teachings, and most intimate moments. But despite his strong declarations, Peter famously denied Jesus three times during Jesus’ trial, just as Jesus had predicted. “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”  And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”  A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:69-75.

So how did Jesus act towards Peter when he first saw him after the resurrection? Did he ridicule him and treat him as an outcast for denying him? No, he gave him the great task of leading the growth of the Christian church. “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 

We are never defined by our lowest moment and that was certainly true about this moment for Peter. Jesus knew that Peter would step up to be one of the most dramatic leaders of the early church. Here Peter speaking many about who Jesus is.  “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know  this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”  Act 2:22-24.  Don’t ever give up on someone.

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Your friends at The Community Ministry.