For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
I pray your week has been a good
one so far, full of God’s grace, mercy, and comfort. I’ve asked my friend and
fellow Christian blogger, TC Avey, to share a devotion today. I’m dealing with
a health issue, among other things, so having Christian friends like TC to help out is a tremendous blessing. I praise God for people like her that He has brought
into my life. Her message on grace is a timely one. J
*********
Discipline is a daily topic in a
house with a toddler. On any given day you can hear a conversation similar to
this:
“Tell mommy why you got a time
out.”
“I hit Liberty” (our dog).
“I told you that if you hit her,
you’d get a time out, but you did it anyway. Tell her you’re sorry for hitting
her.”
He bends down and curls his
little fists into her hair and whispers, “I’m sorry, Liberty.”
Liberty licks his tiny face,
sending peels of delight echoing throughout our house.
Before the teaching moment is
completely gone, I try one last time to make sure my son understands why he had
to sit in the corner. “If you hit her again, you get another time out.
Understand?”
He hangs his little head, but an
impish grin peeks out as he says, “Okay.”
Before long, we have a similar
conversation about pulling the dog’s hair.
Through it all, Liberty remains
by his side. She doesn’t require an apology. She doesn’t demand “justice,”
“fairness,” or “punishment.” And she doesn’t hold a grudge.
Nope. She shows total and
complete GRACE. She loves my son no matter how roughly he treats her. She
sticks by his side, even when it’s not pleasant.
Now that is unconditional love.
Her expressions of love, devotion,
and grace blow me away. How often do I treat God the way my son treats the dog?
While I don’t pull God’s hair or smack him upside the head, I can’t say my treatment
is gentle at times. Yet no matter how ugly I act, God is here, ready and
willing to forgive and restore the relationship.
All this reminds me of the story
of the adulterous woman and Jesus. After all her accusers left, He told her to
“go and sin no more” (John 8:11).
WOW!
Notice Jesus didn’t try to get
“one more teaching moment in.” The woman knew what she’d done. She didn’t need
a reminder.
She didn’t need someone like ME
saying, “Do you know why they were about to stone you to death? Do you realize
I could have just let that happen because it was justified? You better
straighten up or next time you might get hit a few times before I come to your
rescue.”
Nope. She didn’t need any of
that. What she needed was grace.
Good thing those people brought
her to Jesus and not me. I would have wanted to lecture her before sending her
away.
Now, my son is a toddler. I have
to teach him right from wrong; it’s part of my job as a parent. It’s not my job
however to “teach” others. I’m not called to judge sinners but to love them.
In 2 Timothy 2:1, we are told to
be “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
Strong in grace…
My dog’s teaching me daily about
that type of grace.
That’s the type of grace Christ
extends. It’s the type of grace He wants us to extend, as well. Everyone
sins…but only God is able to rightly judge and instruct.
Let’s let God be God.
Let’s let God be our parent and
discipline each individual as He knows best instead of us trying to be the big
sister/brother who wants to stick our noses where they don’t belong (Proverbs
3:11-12).
Discipline is good for those who
learn from it (Proverbs 15:5), but it’s not up to us to discipline the world.
We are called to give unconditional love—to shine HIS light.
If you have difficulty
understanding God’s unmerited devotion, just spend some time around a toddler
and a dog. It’s more than words can express.
It’s GRACE.
TC
Avey is a Christian writer devoted to God, family, friends & nation. She
blogs at "Wisdom of a Fool." An avid reader, mother, wife, and animal lover, she
describes her life as “organized chaos.”
If you have a prayer need, please
share it in the comments or e-mail me confidential requests. While you’re here,
would you take a moment to pray for those on our prayer list at the top of the
blog? Thanks!
God bless,
Laura
✞
Jill has shared a request: Pray for restoration of family. Healing and Deliverance for daughter. Protection for grandson. Wisdom for son. Guidance for me. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteJust prayed for Jill and her family.
ReplyDeletePraying for you and yours as well, Laura.
Thanks for sharing my post on God's Grace- Glad it could help you.
God bless.