I’m sure you know them…OK- at least one of them. We all do!

That naughty friend who drives you nuts…

That terribly annoying and maybe even unapologetic someone you’d rather not know…

That fellow you’re always at loggerheads with…

That person who has and would hurt you deeply – with no apologies…

That individual you’d rather have nothing to do with…

That somebody you’d eradicate at the drop of a feather were God to choose to shut His eyes for just one second!

They are always around…

Worse still, each of us must put up with at least one of them on the paths of life!

Regularly too!

(And for all I care, both you and I are probably also in that category in the records of someone close by …)

Now did I hear someone say “life’s not fair…”?

Truth is life’s not meant to be!

But never mind, we have the Holy Ghost to give us a sleek, posh and extremely comfortable cruise through this ‘uncomfortable’ world.

It’s Valentine’s

In any case it’s Valentines again!

And in a season like this, it may surprise you to discover that our celebration of love is never complete without giving a second consideration to the way our relationship with that ‘someone’ is going.

This is because it is a fact that Jesus came to rescue us all from the power, guilt, damages and consequences of sin…

And that includes that ‘special’ someone!

Time for a Rethink…

You could have written off that person. And justifiably so.

She or he doesn’t deserve your worries, affection, attention, friendship or love.
She or he doesn’t deserve any mercies…
Agreeably so!

However, just before you take out the final blot of their names from the records of your heart, please pause to consider this:

The True Value of Grace:

1 John 4:11 (KJV)Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

The value of Grace is the unworthiness of the recipient; otherwise Divine Grace wouldn’t exist.

As a matter of fact, if that ‘special’ someone- that thorn in your flesh wasn’t there,
then we wouldn’t have any need for Grace.

If we were to deserve every good thing of life freely given to us by God or to merit the least of His attention…
If we were to earn His answer to the greatest of our cries, then Grace is NOT Grace!

‘Just Because…’

By biblical standards, Grace has been defined as the unmerited, undeserved and unearned favor of God.

Wikipedia defines Divine Grace as follows

Grace in this context is something that is God-given, made possible only by Jesus Christ and none other. It is God’s gift of salvation granted to sinners for their salvation.

Biblical Grace was derived from greek word ‘charis’ meaning the unmerited operations of God in the heart of man. It is also referred to as the ‘free gift’ of God.

We all were so undeserving, but by His Grace, God drew us to Himself through Christ.

What makes the concept of Grace so special is the singular fact that no one can ever merit, deserve or earn it.

Rather, Grace is the gift of God to us …
just because He is God;
just because He is gracious;
just because He loves us.

Grace is God’s endowment on us ‘Just Because’…

Q.E.D.!

And we can’t even begin trying to fathom, figure it out, explain or justify it!

The Greatest Call…

Each time we are called upon to extend the grace of God to others, we are not being called to share the Gospel verbally!

Rather, it is a call to

Reach out to the undeserving
Forgive the unpardonable
Love the unloveable
For no explicable reason… ‘Just Because’

It is a call to preach the gospel by extending the love of God beyond the limits of our natural instincts and human inclinations.

It’s a call to preach the good news of Christ without words,

A glorious call to rather live out the Gospel…

Reach Out To Someone Who Might Hurt Me In Return…?

As you go about doing your ‘Valentine things’, to show love and appreciation to your deserving loved ones today, please take a pause and consider reaching out to that ‘undeserving someone‘ also…

You might very well be surprised to discover that’s all they’ve been wishing for all their lives!

Truth is each of us needs someone to still accept, affirm and validate us regardless of how bad we’ve been.

Try it, and you might just find out that truly, in this world all we need is just LOVE!

(And please remember to share your experience by telling us how it went… )

Have yourselves a Happy Valentines!