The Reality of Grace

So often at the end of the day, I am amazed at the people God brings into the pathway of the life He has given.  Today at a late lunch in a bistro on the square in a small middle Georgia town, a waitress came to the table with food and a word which brought memories, laughter, and a desire to stop again when passing that way.  One of the things obvious to us all is that each one of us has a story.  If some of the stories we hear and experience were written in a book, we would think that they were entirely fiction when in fact they would be a picture of reality.    

When reading the book of Genesis we read one story after another after another. They are stories connected by a common DNA.  When we read them we might think that someone would learn from the generation before them, but they seem only to learn to do things the same way.  And, as we read deeper into the bigger story written by the nation bearing the familial markings of Abraham, it would seem that they would learn lessons from past experiences about ignoring how the Lord God was calling them to live, but they only seemed to live again what had already been lived.   

As we read their story we are tempted to think they should have learned and done differently and then we look in the mirror.  How many times have we fallen on our knees and asked God to forgive us for something we not only did yesterday, but for which we had already asked forgiveness.  Sometimes we come to God confessing, "Lord, I can't believe I am here asking for forgiveness for this once again, but here I am."  What is good is that God is good, long lasting in patience, and always willing to look at us with a loving and forgiving heart.  Were it not for grace and mercy and a love we cannot understand, He would hear that repeated confession of ours and say, "Forget it. I have heard that a thousand times!"  As the Word says, there is always more grace in the heart of God than there is sin in us.  Thanks be for that reality!