He came home from working in the city yesterday and told me he'd met some homeless men in the parking lot- the kind that were genuinely hungry. Being the evangelist and tenderhearted man that he is, he offered the homeless men the only food he had- some leftover peanut butter, smeared into my good container. A measure of a person's hunger can be what food they're willing to accept. My husband once offered a granola bar to a "homeless" man looking for handouts and was told, "No, I don't eat junk food!" These men seemed excited to be offered peanut butter and my husband handed it over, joking that his wife may not be happy about the loss of the container. Giving them gospel tracts, my hubby came home to give me the news.
The good news that these men had been willing to accept tracts with the Gospel of Jesus.
The good news that my husband had food to offer when he met hungry people.
The not-so-good news that the plastic container I'd owned since before I met him was a goner.
I tried to push those materialistic thoughts right out of my brain, but I did linger a bit on that second idea.
He came home today and gave me my container. The men were gone, but had left it on the curb in the same parking lot where he'd met them yesterday.
This is the grace of God. I did not need that container back. I did not deserve that container back. I did not want the container back enough to be at all upset with my husband. But I did wish it were back.
God's not a genie that grants our wishes; that is not the message here. However, God's grace is more lavish than we often realize or take notice of. He truly does see the tiny details of our lives; He is aware of our thoughts even if we never speak them out loud. Jesus has a powerful, tender love that extends to all creation. He is involved in our daily lives and He does bless people.
My husband and I have been reading and reading materials on God's grace. We're thirsty for it, and we don't always hear much about it in our Biblically sound local church. We're craving it, but we've discovered that not all books on grace are Biblically sound, either. The more we study His Word and abide in Him, the more our eyes have been opened to His grace all around us. Ask God to show you His grace at work- He will!