Published 9/3/19
Read Luke 15:20, 22-24
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. . . . 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
Reflect
• Do you sense God's grace in your life?
I have grace. In fact, it has been poured into my life so greatly, that I can never spend an entire day without being grateful for it. Of course, it's not the same kind of grace that the princess or the dancers have. On the contrary, I have very little of that kind of grace.
When I was a teen, I was always so clumsy. One day, I asked my mother why. She replied (and it is a joke between us to this day) that it was just a phase, and that I would grow out of it. I am wondering now, twenty-some years later, exactly when I will be growing out of it.
My kind of grace comes in a very different form.
The grace I have in such abundance comes from God. It was bought with a great price, and it is limitless. In fact, the grace I have will last long after I'm past my dancing days. It will last even into eternity.
It isn't just an asset that causes people like me, although I am sure it does make me easier to live with. Yet it's much more essential than that. This kind of grace is like breath to a stifled soul. It comes in like a gush of water when I am in my driest seasons. It offers freedom from cares and worries too big for me to handle. I just call out to God and He sends it. With God, every prayer is heard, and every sin is forgiven.
The grace I'm referring to is the gift from God of sins forgiven, and the assurance of eternal fellowship with Him.
Pray
Lord, pour out your grace in my life. It is powerful, abundant, eternal--and absolutely free. And You are faithful in giving it. Thank You! Amen.