The Gift of Grace

June is my birthday month.   In a few weeks I will be entitled to have seventy eight candles on a birthday cake should one show up for this day of personal note.  While I cannot profess to accumulating the wisdom of Solomon, I have learned a few things along the circuitous road that has brought me from where  I used to be to where I am.  When I left my preaching days, I lost my captive audience.  When I find someone who seems prepared to listen for a moment, I have more to say than needs to be said.  I have watched more than one person who paused long enough to listen leave before their body got up and left.  

One among the many things I have learned is that life is about grace.  Actually, it is not just about grace; it is about the grace of God.  I am a debtor to the abundant grace of God.  I understand why the Apostle Paul would write to young Timothy, "There is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of which I am chief among sinners." (I Timothy 1:15 KJV). One of the great mysteries of this faith journey is the grace which called me from my sins, set my feet on a different path, and then gave me the privilege of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for over forty years.  

When I look at myself in the mirror, I say, "unworthy," and God says, "loved."  How can we not live in a constant state of gratitude?  How can we not rise in gratitude and end the day with it still rising from our heart?  Once when I was complaining to God about where I was, I remember saying to Him, "I deserve better,"  and He quickly told me I did not deserve even the least significant pulpit.  Of course, God was right as He always is.  How grateful we should be that life is not about getting what we deserve, but is instead, about the gift of the grace of God.