Grace

For the month of September, we will be talking about the virtue of Grace.  As a society focused on appearing flawless and giving the illusion of perfection, this virtue is probably the most important one we'll focus on this year.  It is the lack of grace that causes so many to display a facade of themselves rather than being vulnerable and transparent with one another.  The absence of grace has also given the Church and Christians the distinction as being hypocritical, judgemental and fake.  Grace toward one another is fundamental to the way the world views us and the One that we follow.  And, of course, that's not even mentioning the most important aspect - the Grace extended to the world by God through His only son.

As we look at the virtue of Grace over the month, we will examine the parable of the lost coin and the the lost sheep.  These two stories clearly shows how important all of us are to God, that His grace is available to all and that seeking us is His priority, in spite of our sin.  The final three weeks will be spent looking at the parable of the Prodigal Son.  While clearly a story of the father's grace in welcoming his son back home, there are also lessons of grace to be learned in the way the younger son allowed grace to be extended to him and how the older son refused to extend any grace at all.

As you talk with your child, consider the following questions:  Who do you tend to extend grace?  Who do you find it hard to show grace?  What makes grace so hard to give?  What makes grace so hard to accept when you mess up?  Why should we show grace to others?  What would happen if no one showed grace?