Ps 84:11
From Charles Swindoll:
Psalm 84:11
We use grace to describe many things in life:
A well-coordinated athlete or dancer
Good manners and being considerate of others
Beautiful, well-chosen words
Consideration and care for other people
Various expressions of kindness and mercy
Those statements remind me of Christ. What a perfect illustration of
grace! Think of several examples with me. He stood alongside a woman
caught in adultery. The Law clearly stated, "Stone her." The grace
killers who set her up demanded the same. Yet He said to those
self-righteous Pharisees, "He who is without sin, let him cast the first
stone." What grace! Under the Law they had every legal right to bury
her beneath the rocks in their hands . . . and they were ready. There
they stood with self-righteous fire in their eyes, but He intervened in
grace.
When His friend Lazarus died, Martha met Him on the road
and Mary later faced Him in the house. Both blamed Him for not coming
earlier: "If You had been here, my brother would not have died!" There
is strong accusation in those words. He took them in grace. With the
turn of His hand, He could have sent them to eternity; but He refused to
answer them back in argument. That is grace.
When He told
stories, grace was a favorite theme. He employed a gracious style in
handling children. He spoke of the prodigal son in grace. As He told
stories of people who were caught in helpless situations, grace abounded
. . . as with the good Samaritan. And instead of extolling the
religious official who spoke of how proud God must be to have him in His
family, Christ smiled with favor on the unnamed sinner who said, "God,
be merciful to me, a sinner." Even from the cross He refused to be angry
toward His enemies. Remember His prayer? "Father, forgive them . . . "
No resentment, no bitterness. Amazing, this grace! Remarkable, the
freedom and release it brought. And it came in full force from the only
One on earth who had unlimited power, the Son of God.
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