Accepting the grace which is ours involves giving it at every opportunity. Recently someone asked why it doesn't bother me to work closely with someone who seems hard to get along with -- for many reasons! I answered that I realize how miserable this person must be to act in such a way. So I don't take her actions personally, nor do I claim them as a part of my existence. And what she thinks of me is absolutely none of my business! Mary Baker Eddy’s spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer includes this correlation to "Give us this day our daily bread": "Give us Grace for today, feed the famished affections." Starving affections are a symptom of not accepting the Truth about ourselves and others as a creation of divine Mind. When someone seems agitated and angry, or defensive and irritable, the Grace which is ours is the antidote. By practicing kindness when faced with hardness of heart, meekness when all around us is aggression, loving those who seem unlovable, and paying it forward in every action, we prepare ourselves to acknowledge the God-given Grace which is our true heritage. I simply say an inward Namaste, recognizing that their divine essence and mine are absolutely the same. I've found that loving my neighbor as myself is cause for loving myself more -- which is a nice bonus!
“There is no grace of Heaven that you cannot offer to your brother, and receive from your most holy Friend. Let him withhold it not, for by receiving it you offer it to him. And he will receive of you what you received of him. Redemption has been given you to give your brother, and thus receive it. Whom you forgive is free, and what you give you share. Forgive the sins your brother thinks he has committed, and all the guilt you think you see in him.”
A Course in Miracles T-19.IV-D.15:5-10
“Comeliness and grace are independent of matter. Being possesses its qualities before they are perceived humanly. Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color. It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness.
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 247:19-27
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