Grace, Trust, and Forgiveness

I need to be at work at 7 this morning, and need to take Josh to the airport at 9:30, and need to be packed and ready to leave work with the boys and everything I need for a vacation Bible school (VBS) for an unknown number of Egyptian-American kids at 2:30. But still I felt compelled to take a couple of minutes to type out a short post.

I've been up since 2 or so -- but went to bed at 10; so I did get some sleep. But since I've been up (working on work, housework, and the VBS) I've been thinking as I work about GRACE.

We still have a God Who forgives us each day, and calls on us (COMMANDS US) to forgive each other. And part of that grace that He extends to us -- and that we must extend to each other -- is to re-entrust each of us with all the responsibilites and gifts that He had entrusted us with yesterday and that we did a mixed job of stewarding. Yet He grows us and loves us and forgives us and trains us and pushes us right back at our jobs and friends and children and church . . . and commands us to LOVE each other, all over again.

So today I am committed to forgiving -- the stuff I know I need to forgive, the stuff I don't really know about yet but will jump out and hurt me eventually, the stuff I think I need to forgive but I don't really know all the facts, and the stuff that I'll never know but nonetheless steals something precious from all of us -- and re-engaging those I have to forgive.

And today I am committed to asking your forgiveness -- for the stuff I know I need to be forgiven for, for the stuff I don't really know about yet but will jump out and hurt me and/or you eventually, for the stuff you think I need to be forgiven for but don't really know all the facts, and for the stuff that I'll never know but nonetheless steals something precious from all of us -- and asking you to re-engage me as an evidence of real forgiveness.

I am so grateful to God for the model of authentic repentence, forgiveness, and restoration that He displays over and over again in the stories of scripture . . . in both the BIG story of scripture and in all the little ones.

And I am so grateful to God that the same grace is available to you and to me as we walk through our individual stories, and to the church as we walk through our mutual story.

Love never fails.