I love to watch morning arrive, especially in winter. It sneaks in almost unnoticed, as stars slowly give up their brilliance, and just as gently the silhouettes of naked trees appear like silent ink-strokes of the Master Artist against the slowly bluing sky. The day comes in gradually, not like a lightning flash harsh and shattering, until the moment when I realize the world is once again visible, rest is over, and activity begins.
In every season the river birch outside my front window is as graceful as a prima ballerina, but somehow it's more striking when it's stripped bare of its soft green leaves. Isn't that the way of with life? When we've been stripped bare of all the frills we add without thinking-- endless activity requiring a varied wardrobe, gallons of fuel, countless hours spent running to and fro, attention to appearances for what?-- maybe that's when grace shows up, silently and without flourish. Maybe that's when we truly get to know ourselves and our Maker, discover our purpose.
That's certainly how grace dawns on me. I know it's been there all along, like the tree branches that didn't disappear at night just because I couldn't see them. God's unmerited favor has been there for you and for me since the beginning of time. He ordained it for all of us, all humankind whom He created simply to have fellowship with Him. ["Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.'" Genesis 1:26 CSB]
Why that perfect fellowship wasn't enough for Adam and Eve I'll never understand, but I certainly experience the consequences of their poor choice by continuing in my own rebellious nature. How can I be so blind to His grace, which is so obvious every day in my life? I have no idea. It begins just two verses later: "God blessed them...." [Genesis 1:28 CSB] Like the tree which does nothing on its own to "deserve" to be there and give beauty and shade to all who gaze on it, grace is not something I can earn. God sends the sunshine and rain on the tree, even though it can't get up and walk around "doing something" to earn what it needs for its very existence.
At this late stage in life, I think I am truly coming to grasp just how great is God's grace to give me each new day simply to enjoy this beautiful but broken world and even more importantly to fellowship with Him. I know I will have eternity to experience an even closer walk with Him, but my eternity will be richer for each day I'm allowed to walk this miraculous planet with my fellow creatures. Let us never forget that this Lenten season commemorates God's greatest display of His grace to us: He came to this earth which He created perfect in every way but which we broke with our sin; He gave up His heavenly home to become a frail human like us and have His body broken by our sin, then died in the cruelest way possible, the perfect sacrifice for ALL our sins. But the story doesn't end there: after three days in the grave He rose again so that we could join Him as originally intended, in perfect fellowship for eternity!
"He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, and yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name...." [John 1:10-12 CSB]
I pray that everyone reading this has accepted that gift, turned away from sin, and is living in that unfathomable grace. If not, may today be the day, because I want to meet you all at our Savior's feet! 💗
NOTE: During this Lenten season, and simply to learn more about Jesus and feel closer to Him, I highly recommend reading the Gospel of John, written by the one called "the beloved disciple," who was closer to Jesus than a brother.
"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30) ♱ |
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