It is the morning of the resurrection. The angel is making a great announcement to the women who had thought they were coming to the tomb to embalm Jesus's body. As part of the announcement, the angel says these words as recorded in Mark 16:7: "But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he [Jesus] is going before you to Galilee."
I love the two words: "and Peter"! Peter had denied Jesus three times. He was familiar with Jesus's teaching: "whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:33). I suspect Peter felt like a total outcast, unworthy of Jesus's love or forgiveness.
With two gracious words Jesus reached out in forgiveness: "and Peter." Peter was still to be counted among he disciples. He was to be included with those who would be the first to meet Jesus face to face after His resurrection. He was not an outcast; Jesus still loved him.
These words of grace and forgiveness have often been extended to me as well. When I have sinned and feel ashamed and unworthy of God's love, I hear Jesus call to me with grace and forgiveness. It's as if He's saying, "and Brian."
There is nothing you can do that would make you unworthy of God's love and forgiveness. Even if you feel totally unworthy, will you turn to Him today?
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Choices
I like to have lots of choices. I love places with big menus, or buffet meals, where I can take time choosing my favorite thing to eat. I enjoy carrying a wide variety of music or movies on my iPod, so I can indulge my momentary whim when I have some time to watch or listen to something.
On the other side of the issue, I strongly dislike times when I have only one choice. I do not like to be told there is only one option in a given situation. In my heart, I tend to rebel against that option simply because it's the only one offered to me - while I secretly try to look for some other option I might take.
That's my nature. And I suspect it's really true of all of us as human beings. Don't you do it too? We have only one choice of weather at this moment - how often do you or I complain about it? How often do our kids complain about the dinner food made available to them? How often do we gripe when we are called into a "mandatory" meeting at work? How often do we complain about a decision that another person has made which now affects our own lives? How often do we bristle when we are told we MUST do this or that?
I wonder if this is why so many people have trouble with the biblical concept that Jesus is the only way to get to God. We read about Jesus's being the only way, like John 14:6 ("I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.") and Acts 4:12 ("And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."). Still we might secretly think, "Maybe there is another way. Surely God wouldn't be so exclusive as to give us only one choice."
Dear reader, God made the world, and God has given us only one way to have a relationship with Him. The only choice we really have is to choose His way or not choose His way. We can bristle all we want; we can look for other options; we can rebel against such an exclusive arrangement. But this doesn't change the central fact: there is only one way provided for salvation. To be honest, it is an act of amazing grace that God would give any way of salvation at all, so I have personally chosen to embrace that offer. I choose to follow Jesus Christ.
What's your choice?
On the other side of the issue, I strongly dislike times when I have only one choice. I do not like to be told there is only one option in a given situation. In my heart, I tend to rebel against that option simply because it's the only one offered to me - while I secretly try to look for some other option I might take.
That's my nature. And I suspect it's really true of all of us as human beings. Don't you do it too? We have only one choice of weather at this moment - how often do you or I complain about it? How often do our kids complain about the dinner food made available to them? How often do we gripe when we are called into a "mandatory" meeting at work? How often do we complain about a decision that another person has made which now affects our own lives? How often do we bristle when we are told we MUST do this or that?
I wonder if this is why so many people have trouble with the biblical concept that Jesus is the only way to get to God. We read about Jesus's being the only way, like John 14:6 ("I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.") and Acts 4:12 ("And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."). Still we might secretly think, "Maybe there is another way. Surely God wouldn't be so exclusive as to give us only one choice."
Dear reader, God made the world, and God has given us only one way to have a relationship with Him. The only choice we really have is to choose His way or not choose His way. We can bristle all we want; we can look for other options; we can rebel against such an exclusive arrangement. But this doesn't change the central fact: there is only one way provided for salvation. To be honest, it is an act of amazing grace that God would give any way of salvation at all, so I have personally chosen to embrace that offer. I choose to follow Jesus Christ.
What's your choice?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Snap Judgments are Often Misjudgments
I was working in the meeting room of my favorite coffee shop when a middle-aged woman walked in. She looked around, I smiled at her, and she quickly left again.
"Strange," I thought. "Maybe she's just looking for someone, although it seemed like she wanted to come in. I'm the only one in here, and there's plenty of room." I shook it off and refocused on my computer screen.
A couple moments later, she re-entered the room and stood across the room from me, right in my line of sight. She was intently focused on what appeared to be a smart phone. When she briefly looked up, I smiled at her again, and greeted her. She said nothing and quickly returned her attention to her phone.
At this point I started to become a little frustrated. I'm not used to people acting quite so rudely. I noticed she had a big Bible with her, which she had placed on one of the tables nearby. I asked her if she was getting ready for a Bible study of some kind. She waved her hand dismissively, said nothing, and stared back at her cell phone.
Now I became more frustrated. I tried to overlook her rude behavior, but I began to think about packing up and leaving the coffee shop. It was suddenly a little uncomfortable there, and I was no longer concentrating successfully on my work.
As I began to gather my things, stewing a little bit at this woman who was still standing there and ignoring me, another lady carrying a Bible walked into the room and sat down at a table next to where the first woman stood. The two of them did not speak to each other, and barely acknowledged each other at all. "This is a really strange group," I thought. "I'm just going to make a quiet exit."
As I finished packing, one more lady walked into the room and began "speaking" to the other two ladies in sign language. Suddenly everything became clear.
Once again I realized how often our snap judgments about people are made without all of the facts, and thus they are almost always misjudgments. We might see a man with a scowl on his face and think he's angry; in truth he may simply be mentally working through a tough issue. We might greet a friend passing by and then feel dissed when they rush past without acknowledging our greeting; we don't realize they are racing to some time-critical thing, unaware of anyone else around them. I read of one couple that left a church because their pastor didn't speak to them one morning; upon discussing this with him many months later, he recalled that this event happened the Sunday morning he had the flu, and he was racing to the bathroom because he was about to vomit.
We have all made snap judgments about people or situations, only later to find out the facts--as well as the errors of our snap judgments.
Judging someone's motives is perhaps the greatest way we err. For example, we might see someone do something we don't understand, and then we make assumptions about the motive that person might have had. In my own experience, when I have done this, I have been wrong probably 95% of the time.
James 1:19-20 says this: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires." When we rush down the path of judgment and then even anger, we are not living the righteous life that God expects of His people. Better would be to pause and mentally shower every person around us with grace.
After all, I know how gracious God has been with me!
"Strange," I thought. "Maybe she's just looking for someone, although it seemed like she wanted to come in. I'm the only one in here, and there's plenty of room." I shook it off and refocused on my computer screen.
A couple moments later, she re-entered the room and stood across the room from me, right in my line of sight. She was intently focused on what appeared to be a smart phone. When she briefly looked up, I smiled at her again, and greeted her. She said nothing and quickly returned her attention to her phone.
At this point I started to become a little frustrated. I'm not used to people acting quite so rudely. I noticed she had a big Bible with her, which she had placed on one of the tables nearby. I asked her if she was getting ready for a Bible study of some kind. She waved her hand dismissively, said nothing, and stared back at her cell phone.
Now I became more frustrated. I tried to overlook her rude behavior, but I began to think about packing up and leaving the coffee shop. It was suddenly a little uncomfortable there, and I was no longer concentrating successfully on my work.
As I began to gather my things, stewing a little bit at this woman who was still standing there and ignoring me, another lady carrying a Bible walked into the room and sat down at a table next to where the first woman stood. The two of them did not speak to each other, and barely acknowledged each other at all. "This is a really strange group," I thought. "I'm just going to make a quiet exit."
As I finished packing, one more lady walked into the room and began "speaking" to the other two ladies in sign language. Suddenly everything became clear.
Once again I realized how often our snap judgments about people are made without all of the facts, and thus they are almost always misjudgments. We might see a man with a scowl on his face and think he's angry; in truth he may simply be mentally working through a tough issue. We might greet a friend passing by and then feel dissed when they rush past without acknowledging our greeting; we don't realize they are racing to some time-critical thing, unaware of anyone else around them. I read of one couple that left a church because their pastor didn't speak to them one morning; upon discussing this with him many months later, he recalled that this event happened the Sunday morning he had the flu, and he was racing to the bathroom because he was about to vomit.
We have all made snap judgments about people or situations, only later to find out the facts--as well as the errors of our snap judgments.
Judging someone's motives is perhaps the greatest way we err. For example, we might see someone do something we don't understand, and then we make assumptions about the motive that person might have had. In my own experience, when I have done this, I have been wrong probably 95% of the time.
James 1:19-20 says this: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires." When we rush down the path of judgment and then even anger, we are not living the righteous life that God expects of His people. Better would be to pause and mentally shower every person around us with grace.
After all, I know how gracious God has been with me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)