Psalm 84:11 11 For
the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace
and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
We use grace to describe many things in life:
·
A well-coordinated athlete or dancer
·
Good manners and being considerate of others
·
Beautiful, well-chosen words
·
Consideration and care for other people
·
Various expressions of kindness and mercy
Those statements remind me of Christ. What a perfect
illustration of grace! Think of several examples with me. He stood alongside a
woman caught in adultery. The Law clearly stated, "Stone her." The
grace killers who set her up demanded the same. Yet He said to those
self-righteous Pharisees, "He who is without sin, let him cast the first
stone." What grace! Under the Law they had every legal right to bury her
beneath the rocks in their hands . . . and they were ready. There they stood
with self-righteous fire in their eyes, but He intervened in grace.
When His friend Lazarus died, Martha met Him on the road and
Mary later faced Him in the house. Both blamed Him for not coming earlier:
"If You had been here, my brother would not have died!" There is
strong accusation in those words. He took them in grace. With the turn of His
hand, He could have sent them to eternity; but He refused to answer them back
in argument. That is grace.
When He told stories, grace was a favorite theme. He
employed a gracious style in handling children. He spoke of the prodigal son in
grace. As He told stories of people who were caught in helpless situations,
grace abounded . . . as with the good Samaritan. And instead of extolling the
religious official who spoke of how proud God must be to have him in His
family, Christ smiled with favor on the unnamed sinner who said, "God, be
merciful to me, a sinner." Even from the cross He refused to be angry
toward His enemies. Remember His prayer? "Father, forgive them . . .
" No resentment, no bitterness. Amazing, this grace! Remarkable, the
freedom and release it brought. And it came in full force from the only One on
earth who had unlimited power, the Son of God.
Thought for today:
do I ever stop to think about and thank God for the many time He’s shown/provided
grace?
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