Grace

Grace is unmerited favor.  In other words, it is getting what we don’t deserve. 

One day when my daughters were young, they came running into the home telling my husband and I about a small kitten trapped under a large trash container.  My husband and the girls, along with their friends, attempted to let this small kitten free but every time they reached their hands towards the kitten to grab it, the kitten would open up its small mouth and show its fangs and hiss at them.  Finally, with a lot of perseverance, the kitten was set free and the girls begged us if we could adopt it – we decided to name the kitten Lucky.  The first thing we did was to take it to our bathtub to give it a bath.  As soon as my husband dipped her in the water, we noticed the kitten appeared to be bleeding.  The next stop for this kitten was the animal hospital.  The veterinarian informed us that she was infested with fleas.  The bleeding was actually caused by the fleas when they came in contact with the warm water.  After the veterinarian gave it a good flea bath, he informed us that this kitten was wild and that it would take a lot of patience and time to tame it. 

Fortunately, for this kitten, we have daughters that are very patient.  Each day my daughters would work to gain the trust of this wild, little kitten.   But each time we walked by Lucky, the wild side of the kitten would do what she always did, show us her fangs and hiss.  Natalie, our oldest daughter, never gave up on this kitten - she made it a cozy place to sleep and she patiently hand fed the kitten with a spoon until Lucky gained her trust.  It took a long time but eventually Lucky became more comfortable with her new home.   This wild kitten that was once trapped under a trash container, had now been rescued, doctored up, showed a lot of love, and now had become a treasured family pet. 

Did this kitten do anything to earn the favor we gave it?  NO.  Did she do anything to justify the money and time we invested in her?  NO.  In fact, she did just the opposite.  But our family chose to show little Lucky unmerited favor – better known as GRACE. 

This is exactly what God has done for us hasn’t He?  God sent His Son while we were still sinners to rescue us from ourselves.  Through Christ’s finished work on the cross, and our acceptance of this gift, we became a treasured child of God and we were adopted into His family.  This is unmistakable GRACE.

However, the story of Lucky does not end here.  One day, Lucky escaped her safe and loving home. Even though we tried everything to locate Lucky, we were unable to find her – she chose to go her own way.  The call of the wild was much stronger for little Lucky.

Many of us, just like Lucky, resist the love and care that God delights to shows us.     

Let’s not resist the love God wants to show us today.  God has His arms opened wide ready to accept us, through His Son, just as we are, at any time of the day or night, with any conditions, with or without fleas. :)

Do you need more of God’s grace today?  Instead of resisting Him, let’s resist our own call to the wild and we will receive all the abundant life that God has for each and every one of us.

 

If we will be patient and allow God to refine us, God will bless us beyond our imagination! God has a magnificent plan for your life!!!

“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11-12