Gateway to Grace

Monday February 2, 2015

When my oldest daughter was very young, it was always difficult to get her to admit when she had done something wrong. She was skillfully evasive and seemed to have a knack for explaining away a bad situation. Her indiscretions were usually very minor - she was essentially a "good girl". But her habit of never admitting her mistakes was a source of concern to us.

One day, she decided - without permission - to play with her Mum´s diamond engagement ring... and promptly lost it! The enormity of her "crime" overwhelmed her, and she ran to my wife and literally begged for forgiveness. She then offered her Mum all the money she possessed (less than one thousandth of the value of the ring) and said she would do anything to try to make up for the loss.

The response from my wife was an immediate warm embrace, the wiping away of my daughter´s tears and the experiencing of great joy in that her daughter had been so honest and contrite. The ring simply didn´t matter as much.

The people of Israel were a contentious and hard-hearted bunch. They moaned about God and Moses all the time (Numbers 21:5). Finally, God sent serpents to strike them (v.6). The people became aware of their wrong behaviour and threw themselves on the mercy of God. They knew that only He could save them (v.7). But if they were doomed, they understood that they deserved it! They were finally contrite and wiling to repent of their wrong ways.

That´s the gateway to grace. Only when we admit that we´re helpless and hopeless, deserving of the wrath of a joly God, are we ready to receive salvation in Jesus. He lavishes His grace on people whose hearts are truly broken before Him. - Russell Fralick

Read
Numbers 21:4-9
They travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"
Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

John 3:14-16
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Question to Ponder
How have you experienced Jesus' saving grace?
Why is it important for us to confess our sins to God?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey to God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue