Grace: it’s my niece’s name, a town in Washington and the theme of countless hymns. Grace is a noun and a verb. It’s a way to address royalty, a period of time and a manner of behaving. Grace is found on T-shirts, candles, gin bottles and perfumes. Grace is many things to many people.
Has grace become overused? Are Google’s 1,040,000,000 search results for it evidence that we’ve produced semantic inflation? Perhaps.
I remember back in my middle school days having a conversation with my dad about the word awesome. It had become the go-to response for anything from “I’m getting a burger for lunch” to “Check out this trick I learned on my skateboard.” According to Google, the word still means “extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.” But as middle school and high school students tend to do, we used the one-word response ad nauseam; and now for most people, “Awesome” has become a slightly more enthusiastic response than “Cool.”
I don’t mind the fact that grace is a common word. I just wish we would all pause to consider the extreme need for grace in this season.
Reflect on the state of our world at the moment. Some people are paralyzed by fear, worried that leaving their homes could expose them to a potentially deadly infection. Others have been out of work for weeks, and anxiety over how to make ends meet has become their new reality. Some have entered into a deep depression. Others carry on as if nothing has changed. There are people using the coronavirus pandemic as a platform for political posturing. Others have used it as a breeding ground for creativity and business innovation. My viewpoint is inevitably different from yours. Should this realization be an excuse for deepening division, or a catalyst that leads us to embody grace as a lifestyle?
Below, I’m including a trimmed version of Google’s various definitions of grace. I suggest that we all consider how we might live out each one.
Noun
- simple elegance or refinement of movement.
- courteous goodwill.
- an attractively polite manner of behaving.
- (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
- a divinely given talent or blessing.
- the condition or fact of being favored by someone.
- a period officially allowed for payment of a sum due or for compliance with a law or condition, especially an extended period granted as a special favor.
- a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal.
- a form of description or address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop.
Verb
- do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one’s presence.
- (of a person or thing) be an attractive presence in or on; adorn.
So, while grace may be overused as a marketing ploy or linguistic filler, I certainly don’t think that embodying the ways of grace can ever be overdone. I say, let’s try it. It will be awesome!
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” ―Hebrews 4:16 (English Standard Version)
