I wanted to share with you all my thoughts on the subject  of  " grace "  that our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ offers to all of us. Probably more Christian books have been written on the subject of grace than any other church topics. So what is it about us sinful human beings that God is so willing to offer us His divine grace & forgiveness ?  I think it is in His divine nature to extend His hand of love & grace to all who want  and ask for it . And there it is - the word all . Is God really willing to give grace to any and all people who want it? I mean - there must be some really bad characters out there in the world that even God will not forgive

Well - I found two people in history's past that God should have just turned His back on. One is a guy who lived in the first century , at the time of the early church. His name was Saul of Tarsus. He lived in Jerusalem , was a Roman citizen and a Jewish elder . He loved to go after Christian believers , have them thrown into prison and even have them killed for their faith. It was his personal mission to hunt down and destroy the early Christian church .  So what did God do with Saul - did he send a couple of His heavenly angels after him . No - instead He offers Saul His love & grace, and changes His life from Christian hater to a Jesus follower. Can you believe that ? And Saul gets a new name - now he is Paul the Apostle, a missionary for Jesus Christ. He goes on to write most of the New Testament and share the gospel message with much of the gentile world - amazing !

And then there was a slave trader who lived from 1725 to 1807. His name is John Newton. This guy was the worst of the worst. He traveled on ships that transported African slaves to other countries. Many of the slaves died during their transport due to the bad shipping conditions.  Now here is a guy worthy of God's hand of judgement. Make this guy shark bait and throw him overboard. So what did God do with John Newton - yes you probably guessed it by now. Divine grace & love was extended to him, his life was changed - he became a Christian believer. And even became an Anglican Priest and a church pastor . He wrote the now famous song - " Amazing Grace " that we Christians love to sing

It sure does seem that God is more than willing to give His grace to anyone that wants it. And here is the rub - He wants us to do the same. I am sure there are lots of people you will come across in your life's travels. People who you can't stand being around. People that no one else will care about . God just may be calling you to extend a little grace & forgiveness the next time someone crosses your path that you don't like. Grace - its God's free gift to you , its your choice to accept it and pass it on !


have a blessed day,  Gary Rich
yfc77jesus@aol.com