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  • Writer's pictureAnnie

The Gift of Grace

"If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?" It was a late Monday night shift at the bowling alley and two of my coworkers and I were asking each other the deepest questions we could think of to pass the time. There's no better way to get through a 5 hour shift than to expose your soul to the people you work with.


The question above was asked and I answered by saying I wanted to be less judgmental and more graciously loving. Every single day since then, I have thought about the response my coworker gave back to me. She said, "Carry cash with you everywhere you go. When you see a homeless person, give them money no matter what. They could use it to buy food or spend it on drugs. The point isn't to control what they do with the gift you give them. God is like that too with us. He gives you new grace every morning, regardless of what you did with it the day before. You can waste it or cherish it. But despite what you do with it, He continues to give you grace every day."


I mean, wow.


It made me think of a similar story I had just read in Luke 7. Luke tells us about a Jewish religious leader named Simon who invited Jesus to his home for dinner. In the neighborhood, there was a woman who was known for being a prostitute. When she heard that Jesus was at Simon's house, she took an expensive alabaster flask and filled it with the most costly perfume. Broken and weeping, she entered Simon's house and knelt at the feet of Jesus. She covered his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. She kissed his feet and anointed them with her perfume as an act of worship. Seeing this, Simon was outraged and thought there was no way Jesus could be a true prophet because he should have known what kind of sinful woman was touching him.


Jesus responded to Simon by saying "She has been forgiven of all her many sins. This is why she has shown me such extravagant love. But those who assume they have very little to be forgiven will love me very little."


Simon thought Jesus should have known the sinfulness of the woman, but Simon should have known the love of the one next to him, who was ready to forgive and restore. Religion focuses on the sinfulness of a person, but faith sees the glory of the one who forgives and heals.


I'm Simon, judging people for their actions. I'm the woman, guilty of many sins. I'm the homeless person, either cherishing or wasting God's gift of mercy. But most importantly, the story doesn't end with me and my shortcomings. In fact, the story isn't even about me. The story is about a Redeemer that, no matter who I am or what I've done, is more than enough.


The story is about a gracious and loving God who doesn't beat the sheep for straying from the flock, but finds him and carries him back to where he should be. It's hard to comprehend that kind of unconditional love. But grace is more powerful than guilt.


The focus of a righteous life isn't on the level of sinfulness of the person, but on the powerful love and forgiveness of the Savior.


I'm on my way to the ATM to take out cash now.

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