Starving for Grace

Ernest Hemingway once relayed this story.

“Once upon a time a Spanish father fought with his son, and the son ran away to Madrid.  Years later, in an effort to reconcile with his son, the father took out an ad in the LeLiberal newspaper: 

“Paco is a very common name in Spain, and when the father reached the plaza square on Tuesday he found eight-hundred young men named Paco waiting for their measure of forgiveness.”

What does this story tell us? 

The world is starving for grace.

 Who hasn't needed a measure of grace on occasion? 

I have. 

--Carolyn and I recently avoided a $154 traffic violation for exceeding the 30 MPH speed limit in a small town in Oregon.  Thanks to the grace of the police officer, he let us off with a simple verbal warning.

--I saw grace once in a hot cup of coffee offered a young homeless man on a cold Sunday morning.  He had spent the night in the doorway of a church near downtown Seattle.

--The clerk should have been fired.  After all, he left the cash drawer out of the locked

safe.  He should have been fired.  Instead, he received grace.  No pink slip, just a 

verbal comment that said, “Please don’t let that happen again or I’ll have to take 

disciplinary action.”  

I have always had a grace period for every home and automobile I’ve purchased.  The payment is due on the 1^st , however, I am given a few extra days before my payment is considered late.  That is grace.

The world is starving for grace and kindness at the end of a hand that could offer rebuke instead. 

I think our calling as human beings is to offer a bit more grace in these days.  It’s easy to offer the letter of the law.  It’s easy to issue edicts, eviction notices, call the note due, judge one to be a low life, but oh, to offer grace. 

To offer a cup of water to a thirsty form of humanity is to offer grace. 

Sometimes it takes grace 

to be able to offer grace, 

doesn't it?

*“We’ve got to keep the doorway clear.  These    people may scare off our regular customers.”

*“I might not get repaid for the loan,” You            mumble.

*“But he may go out and do something much       worse than this.  He needs to be taught             a lesson.” 

*“We’ve got to set an example.  What if …?”

Yes indeed.  What if?

                    But what about grace?

The world is starving for grace. 

This word – GRACE – is commonly applied to those of us inside the church walls.  Otherwise we don’t talk about it much.  But we need to. 

I don’t think GRACE is simply a religious term.  It is a term for mankind.  In a day and age when we face cold and hard times, don’t you think a bit of grace might just ease the pains and struggles of life?

I think of the Bill Gates Foundation and the immense humanitarian work they do around our world.  I doubt that you’ll find the word “GRACE” in any of their literature as the purpose for what they do, but it is there nevertheless. 

They are easing the day to day struggle of mankind in life-changing ways. 

I’m all over the idea of GRACE when it comes to my religious belief, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I receive grace abundant in times of need.

Let’s take grace for a walk up and down Main Street USA; beyond the walls of churches and sanctuaries.

Offer a helping hand, a kind word, a smile, a meal to a homeless person.  This is grace at its finest. 

My friends Ed and Carole do just that.  They and their friends serve soup and bread to the homeless in and around Boston every weekend.  They are offering grace and a kind word and along comes hope on the coattails of the grace that is extended. 

“Grace comes free of charge to those who don’t deserve it.”  Philip Yancey said that in his book What’s So Amazing about Grace?

Grace is free.  It’s an act of love, compassion, kindness, gentleness.  It is not dependent on us being worthy of it or of earning it.  Grace offers hope,

HOPE.  Remember, a person can’t live 4 seconds without hope.

Hope and Grace. 

God give us the grace to offer more grace.