We have missed you this summer and are excited for the 2018-2019 school year to begin! We hope you are enjoying the bright and clean campus, with new paint and pictures throughout the building. Our facilities crew has worked hard to get things ready for you. Be sure to thank them.
Our theme for the year is “Grow in Grit and Grace.” You will see a new banner in the reception area with different phrases explaining these two concepts. Today I’d like to explain “grow in grace.” Grace can be defined as the unmerited favor of God. Basically, it is getting what we don’t deserve. It’s unconditional love toward someone who does not deserve it. Grace is a concept that we struggle to understand and to accept because we are a society that is built around merit. Shouldn’t we get what we deserve. That only seems fair, doesn’t it?
But God does not relate to us that way. He knew that there was nothing that we could do to bridge the huge gap between Himself and us. We couldn’t earn His approval because God is perfect. And so He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins. By accepting this free gift of grace, we no longer get what we deserve, which is death. God reached down and while we were still His enemies, Jesus died for us. This was the ultimate example of grace.
So how can we show grace to ourselves and to others this year? To ourselves? Yes. We are sometimes deceived into thinking that we are not good enough or that because we can’t forget the mistakes that we have made that God keeps count. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Psalm 103:12 reminds us that the sins that we cannot forget, God cannot remember. Once our sins are forgiven, they are remembered no more.
As we begin to grow in our understanding and acceptance of grace, we can show this same undeserved favor to others. We can love others unconditionally. This year, let’s demonstrate what it means to be forgiven and free. Let’s extend this same grace that was given to us to others. Ms. Fitcher, our elementary principal, showed a great short video that explains grace during an elementary assembly. It’s linked here in case you’d like to watch it with your kids.
I am excited to see how God works in and through us during this coming year. Stayed tuned for next week’s article where I will explain what I mean by GRIT. Have a blessed weekend.
Because of His Faithfulness,
Sharon C. Brobst, Ed.D.
Director