Skip to main content

Grace to Be in Reality


                Life on earth requires grace to be in the reality of sin.  I never feel this more intensely than when I return from a mission trip to a country where poverty and human suffering are experienced in far more extreme ways than I see here in America.

                The living conditions I experience up close and personal turn my stomach with sorrow and pity.  It’s only after I meet the individuals, the children, the workers, that I discover the power of grace.  Amidst the smells, the squalor and the absence of common decencies, there is an aura of grace that sheds light that makes the impoverished conditions have a golden glow.

                Often the richest person is impoverished compared to the poor.  I see this in the way the children respond to a simple sticker or a small balloon.  The joy they receive from the smallest gift is humbling and blissful to experience.  There is a gift of grace from having little.  There are fewer worries about robbery or jealousy.  The honor of the relationship between individuals has a higher value than the material possession given. 

                Working in slums and shanty towns is grace-filled work.  Don’t get me wrong, they are dangerous and disease infested places for sure.  The incidence of alcoholism is higher there amidst the despair of life.  Sexual crimes go unreported because they are so common.  It is definitely not a comfortable place.  It is only the hope of Christ that brings this graceful glow to the harsh conditions.

                You might feel that you have nothing to offer the children who will most likely never live above the poverty line.  Yet when you bring them Christ, you bring them the grace to be in their reality.  The hope of eternal life brings hope to live right where they are now.

                We can each live in this grace to be in our own reality.  I know that I receive grace to face what each new day brings even though I can be pretty sure I will have a roof over my head and food to eat and even air conditioning to make me comfortable.  No one’s reality is without a need for grace.  When we recognize this grace, we are able to live in our reality with the same joy I saw in the faces of the children when I gave them a sticker.  And more than that, I experience the joy their faces displayed when they gave me a simple flower and greeting of welcome to their classroom.

                Ruth Myers paraphrases Paul’s words well when she writes: Thank You that Your Son will return from heaven with a shout of triumph, that the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable…and in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be utterly changed.  We shall see the radiance of His face and the glorious majesty of His power.  It will be a breathtaking wonder and splendor unimaginable to all who believe!  Thank You that whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future You planned for us.(1 Thessalonians 4:16 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Romans 8:18)[i]

                May you experience the grace to be in your reality and live it as fully as an impoverished child receiving a sticker!


[i] Ruth Myers, 31 Days of Praise (Random House, New York: 1994) p. 50-51.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Pilgrimage that Started with Tears

                Who would think I would shed tears deciding to set out on a wonderful journey that I have longed to take for many years?   Before I was ready to fully accept God’s invitation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I had to journey to a place of agreement between what my soul wanted and what the Lord wanted for me.   For years I have been declining opportunities to travel to Israel—not because I didn’t want to go but because I wanted to go with my husband by my side.   I know that God could have arranged that for me, but instead He asked me to accept that He wanted me to be willing to go and leave everything behind.   When I was asked to make a decision about going on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, God gave me this verse in answer to my prayer -- Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are cr...
2 comments
Read more

Why Me?

              When something tragic or unexpected happens, our first question seems to be, Why me?   It’s only human to feel this way and wonder why life has got to be so hard.   God has helped me look at my unwanted circumstances with a different question.   Rather than keep the focus on my pain and ask, Why me?   I focus on Him and wonder, How can You be glorified when everything is going wrong?             Adding one more word to that question makes a huge difference spiritually and opens my soul to find so much more than just my pain.   Another way to look at life’s tragedies is, Why not me ?   Sure, we each have our own amount of personal sorrows. These are the kind of sorrows that have no answers.      We can't explain away death, cancer, rape, bankruptcy and other heartaches.   It is easier to explain...
Post a Comment
Read more

Holy Saturday

Nothing is written about the events of Holy Saturday except Luke 23:56, “they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” These few words speak volumes about our life with Christ.   What was it like for these ladies to rest on the Sabbath?   They had watched carefully, they knew how quickly Jesus’ body was laid in the grave. The men had brought spices and linens, but they had little time to properly anoint this most precious of all bodies.   As the women watched carefully, they made mental note of the supplies that would be necessary to complete this sacred act of burial as it should be. They spent the last few hours before sunset to prepare the spices for this holy act of reverence. The Sabbath signaled the time for rest.   I’m sure they didn’t feel like resting, but by complying out of obedience they were probably served by its benefits.   Their minds racing from the horror they had just witnessed, at best they could allow their bodies to rest and ...
Post a Comment
Read more