Taking Grace for Granted

How have you lost sight of the miraculous gift of grace? What would it look like to be motivated by grace once again?

Perspective

It isn’t hard to take grace for granted; we are just human. However, I will say that sometimes you meet people who remind you of how fortunate it is to wake up the following day. To have what you do have and not think about what you don’t.

Still, we take for granted that we can breathe the air we are afforded. Sure, there is pollution, and some of us smoke cigars or other things; however, we breath. God gives us the air and the strength in our lungs to take it in. Grace.

There is a passage from Jesus about why do we worry about this world. God gives to the birds and other animals. He surely will provide for us. While that is true, we do need to participate. I think that is the responsibility of a human. We are offered our free will, and we are given our gifts. Those two things unite to allow us to live a quality and honorable life. Unfortunately, it does not always work out that way.

When you think of Jesus's sacrifice, you see his arms nailed open wide. His blood is dripping down, yet He offers up His life for yours. Why? Not sure. Not sure why it had to go down that way. It did. He came back. He revealed Himself to plenty, and we are where we are. However, we get caught up in our now. We don’t always see the person before us as a child of God and someone we should honor and respect. Someone to value.

God’s grace is constant. While we might have been through or are going through sh!t shows, God provides for us during that time. It might not be how we wanted it. The folks delivered from Egypt are a good example of that! Manna from heaven for 40 years. No variety. Just enough to live. Nothing to put in their pantry. Nothing to decide about. Just what you were provided and sufficient to live. Kind of like those birds he feeds. What manna are you getting from God?

Now that isn’t the kind of grace many of us would appreciate. But, heck, do we understand the grace we are given? The peanut butter and the jelly. The hamburger with cheese. The home we are in. The friend that called to say hello. Our ability to walk. The wealth we have. The church we attend. The education we received. I'm pretty sure the list is endless.

Now neglecting our Father, who provides it all, is easy. We get caught up in our world and can forget that each beat of our hearts is a gift. We get too focused on the things that aren't going well, or maybe we are enjoying things too much, making no time for Him. The point, God continues to provide us with grace no matter what. We are very lucky and the sooner we truly acknowledge that perhaps when we want to complain about something, we won't. Remember, we do have to be part of God's creation, but without what He allows, we have and are nothing.

So this grace we get is to be honored and worshiped—especially those of us who have been provided a good deal. We need to keep that in mind, and He doesn’t need us to cringe at it. Just thanks now and again. A genuine appreciation and perhaps an acknowledgment that it isn’t yours anyway.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, grace is something you just give us all. We don’t always see it, and we sometimes do not honor it. Please, Father, help us not ignore it. While we are not getting manna, we are getting so much more. We are allowed to live a life more prosperous than many. Help us appreciate this more and more and not neglect our role as someone to enjoy another. I appreciate your grace. Father, please keep us safe; keep our families safe and our friends. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.