Grace for men, Grace for Women

There are a number of elements of the Christian faith that seem to play out differently in the lives of men and women. Oh I know that may seem preposterous or ‘not the way it is supposed to be’ from the outset, but I have seen it first hand for many years. Generally speaking, whereas women may find it easier to discern and trust that they have heard the voice of God, men seem to better apprehend the grace of God, particularly as it applies to themselves.



Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,

Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!

Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,

There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.1

Paul writes, ‘For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’2

Lord Jesus, that is unbelievable! Where sin increases, grace increases all the more? What else might you tell us about that kind of grace—that grace that cost you so much . . .

My grace is free . . . you do not have to pay anything for it.

My grace is sufficient for whatever you are facing

My grace is bountiful enough to cover a multitude of sins

My grace is great enough to forgive any debt

My grace is the fount of everlasting love

My grace can make a dirty life clean

My grace can bring hope to a hopeless person

and to a hopeless situation

My grace offers the promise of eternal life and love

My grace makes it possible not to live in fear

My grace allows me to ‘forget’ your sin

My grace can make you a new creature, and

make the old fall away, so that your past

will no longer define you~

My grace is a gift to you, but it won’t be yours

unless you receive it.

My grace became a person: Jesus.

Through my grace, Child, there is nothing you can do to make me love you less, and nothing you can do to make me love you more~

Friends, your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace either.3

What do you think--are men and women different in the way they handle and receive the grace of God? Who forgives themselves more easily—men or women, or are they just the same? Give it some thought, and respond!

Christine Todd DiGiacomo
 
 
1 from the hymn, “Grace Greater than our Sin”

2 Romans 5.19-21

3 Jerry Bridges