.: when grace speaks :.

If and when our lives are truly touched by the grace of God, we cannot help but respond. And that response is not just inward, but by the power of the Spirit of God, it is also outward. When our lives are touched by grace, that grace cannot help but cause us to speak.
And, my friends, when grace speaks, it does not steal from that other person, but it introduces even greater grace into the lives of those that hear it.
When grace speaks, it does not communicate a grudge that it has been holding onto, but it lets that person off the hook that we put them on in the first place.
When grace speaks, it does not obligate others to think like we think, but it frees them up to think their own thoughts.
When grace speaks, it does not brag about what it has accomplished, but rejoices with what others have done in life.
When grace speaks, it does not parade all that it knows in front of that other person, but it draws out their own thoughts and feelings about an issue.
When grace speaks, it does not seek to weigh another soul down, but it lifts it up through encouragement.
When grace speaks, it does not humiliate a person because of what they have said or done, but it allows them to save face (even at the speaker's expense).
When grace speaks, it does not judge a person upon what he or she does or does not know, but it affords them the chance to teach as well as (possibly) be taught.
When grace speaks, it does not trumpet all that it has achieved, but it rejoices in what others have accomplished.
When grace speaks, it does not work to impress those around it, but it allows itself to be impressed by someone else.
When grace speaks, it does not pride itself on all its various ambitions in life, but it works to nurture the hopes and dreams that lies in the hearts of those all around it.
When grace speaks, it does not compare itself against those who are supposedly inferior, but it realizes that God is doing different things in different lives.
When grace speaks, it does not assume that it is the first to speak the truth to that person, but it understands that the Spirit is already engaged in some sort of conversation with them.
When grace speaks, it does not proclaim its own agenda under the guise of spiritual truth, but it calls every individual to live within the freedom that Christ has won.
When grace speaks, it does not say one thing to one person and the opposite to another, but it is consistent with everyone who hears it.
When grace speaks, it does not stir up strife between anyone (itself included), but it speaks words of peace that cause others to drop their guard.
When grace speaks, it does not allow itself to damage or destroy another person's reputation, but it takes that other person's heart and life into consideration before it even utters a word.
When grace speaks, it does not come to collect on whatever debt it feels like it is owed, but it releases that other person from any kind of obligation.
When grace speaks, it does not sing its own praises about all that it has done for the Lord, but it celebrates when God has been glorified, no matter who was involved.
When grace speaks, it does not show favoritism towards those that it prefers, but it chooses to bless everyone who it interacts with.
And when grace speaks, it does not act artificial so that others might be impressed, but it is genuine and open with everyone whom its encounters.

But what will it cost us to speak like this with one another?