The Message of Grace

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In his book Proof Timothy Paul Jones writes about his middle daughter who is adopted. She had been adopted before, but that family put her back in the foster care system. For some reason, they had not treated this little girl like she was truly their child. Whenever they had special outings, they took all their biological children with them, but left their adopted daughter behind. Of course, this child got the message that she wasn’t wanted, wasn’t good enough, wasn’t a full member of the family.

So when Timothy Jones’ and his family adopted this little girl, she acted out – a lot. They decided that the best way to welcome her to their family was to plan a trip to Disney. But when they told their new daughter about the trip, her behavior problems only got worse. She lied, she stole food, she was mean to her new siblings. It seemed that this little girl was so afraid of not getting to Disney that she was trying to guarantee her new parents would have a reason to leave her behind.

The day finally came for their trip, and the family went all out. It was a full day of fun!

As they collapsed in their hotel room that night, Timothy asked his new daughter what she thought of the experience. She smiled and said, “Daddy, I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was good; it’s because I’m yours.”

And then he writes, “That’s the message of outrageous grace. Outrageous grace isn’t a favor you can achieve by being good; it’s the gift you receive by being God’s.”

When the message of grace sinks deep into our hearts; we can let of thinking that God’s love is something we need to earn. We can let go of our past mistakes and failures – knowing that God has let them go… We can let go of our shortcomings. And we can let go of the shortcomings of others… And we are set free from having to be the judge of the world… And that just feels good!

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, for your unconditional love, mercy and grace. Help us accept these gifts, and to share them with a world desperately in need. In Christ’s name. Amen.