Posts Tagged: God’s grace

Grace: God’s Middle Name

On December 24, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Or is “Grace” God’s first, middle, and last name? Perhaps God is Grace from beginning to end?

A friend (who is also my twelve-step sponsor) sent me the following link: https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/opinion/grace-jesus-christmas-christianity.amp.html.

I am not sure whether or not my sponsor realized how much I’ve been struggling with depression the past few days. Specifically, I’ve been wondering if God’s grace is truly enough for me. I’m probably the only person in the world who wonders that, right?

If you ever struggle with depression at this or any time of year, if you ever feel like an outsider, you need use the link (pasted above) to connect with the article by Peter Wehner.

Who knows? Maybe God is gracious after all. Maybe this link will help to link you to this Gracious God.

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“On Rooting for Cinderella”

On November 3, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

So, it was a good World Series, wasn’t it?  It was heart-breaking for the Indians and their fans.  It was exhilarating to “the lovable losers” (a.k.a. “the Cubs”).

And me?

Well, I live in Ohio, but my team is not the Indians.  (I won’t mention the name of “my” team, but I will tell you that their initials are “The Cincinnati Reds.”)

However, despite living in Ohio now, I lived in the Chicago area for three years, and fell in love with the Cubbies, a love that persists—except, of course, when they play the Reds.

Stir in another factor in order to bake this ambivalence pie: I like to root for whoever is down, whoever is the most “Cinderella-ish.”  Going into the World Series, the team that was most like Cinderella was Cleveland.

However, after four games, the Indians were up three to one, and were heading back to Cleveland.  “Well,” I said to myself, “my good friend John is from Cleveland, so it is okay if the Indians win.

And, if I were a betting man, then that is precisely the way I would have bet.  However, there would be several more HUGE “howevers.”

HOWEVER, the Cubs won the next two games in Cleveland, and in a back-and-forth wrestling match between the two Cinderellas, the Cubs won game seven.  It was one of the best baseball games I have never watched.  (I went to bed when the Cubs were up three to one, thinking that Chi Town had the matter well in hand.  Silly me!  Judge me not!  I was tired!)

Virtually everything makes me think of God, even cliff-hanger Cinderella baseball wrestling matches.

God loves Cinderellas!  This is true in the Old Testament, where God chose Cinderellas such as Abram and Sarah, Hannah, Gideon,  and David.  Indeed, Israel itself wasn’t much to look at.  (See Deuteronomy 7:1-8, for example.  Of course, no nation is much to look at.  Sometimes, we forget that.)

The New Testament is all about God’s very very HUGE “however.”  Jesus showed great love for Cinderella teams and Cinderella individuals.  Jesus’ actions as well as his teachings confirm this.  According to Luke 14:15-24, the Cinderellas of the world are the ones who get invited to the ball.  Others are too busy being busy (and too busy making excuses) to attend.

I had lunch recently with a good friend who feels like a Cinderella.  He thinks of all that he could have accomplished if only he had made better decisions in his life.  I know this man very well.  He has been exceedingly frank about his struggles and failings.  Still, he thinks of himself as a Cinderella.

And yet, I think of him as a very successful person.  He has accomplished a lot of really good things, including loving me.  And I am not the easiest person in the world to love!

I suspect that all of us feel like Cinderella.  Some of us feel that way some of the time, some most of the time, and some all of the time.  We are all waiting for a handsome prince (or princess) to come and place the right shoe on our foot.

Perhaps God has already put the slipper on our foot.  Perhaps the slipper is called “Grace!”  And God’s grace is the hugest “however” of them all.

DTEB

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