Any day that I wear my “Grace if Enough” tee shirt, I’m bound to have an interesting conversation with someone. In fact, sometimes that’s exactly why I wear it.
One day I was at Teaism in Dupont Circle and a man who was there with his daughter asked, “What does your shirt mean?” Great question!
The quote (and the title of a song by Matt Maher whose concert is where I purchased the tee) comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9:
Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Today was no different. I was at the grocery store, and as I was checking out the cashier said to me “Is your name Grace?” I giggled and said, “No, it’s the Grace of God!”
As I left the store, the lyrics of another musician came to mind…my fav, U2:
Grace, it’s a name for a girl, it’s also a thought that changed the world.
Why is it that people don’t know that Grace is more than just a name for a girl?? Why? Because we don’t speak about grace enough. When was the last time you answered someone’s question with the word “Grace”?
“Wow, how did you do so well on your exam?”
“Wow, aren’t these flowers gorgeous?”
“Wow, how did your mother make such a quick recovery?”
Sometimes we forget who’s in charge and how much He loves us. So let’s start remembering and calling His gift by its proper name: GRACE
It might seem silly for me to be the first to comment on my own blog, but I wanted to link the quote from Corinthians to Msgr. Pope’s blog a few days ago. Many of you wrote in about habitual sins, including pornography and masturbation, and Corinthians is God’s answer!
We all have habits – thorns in the flesh – that we have begged the Lord to take away. But what He is asking us to do is to join Him in His Passion – weakness, hardship, constraint – and to trust that His grace is victorious!
AMAZING point, Laura. Love that shirt, maybe I will order one now. We should always seek and take the opportunity to share with others the hope that we have in Jesus Christ! His grace is everything!
Thanks for the encouragement to use it in my daily conversation!
Great post! Thanks for the reminder.
“Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Oh, how I want to believe this … I didn’t realize until now that Grace has to be enough, that I should stop asking for strength and courage. He will provide.
Thank you.
It’s cool to see our shirts further being used for ministy. Thanks for this. I play bass with matt, but i also do the merchandising, and this was our first shirt.