I tell people that I win more battles today because I am better at picking
my fights. That old Kenny Rogers’ line about “know when to hold ‘em, know when
to fold ‘em “ applies to many decisions in life other than cards. And with life
being a daily battle for most, when it becomes too overwhelming turn to drugs or
alcohol. Which only makes the situation worse. Never will you hear “I was a
total failure and then started smoking pot. Today I am a success.” Rather I
deal with many whose families have been ruined by alcohol and drug abuse.
Prisons are filled with nice people who under the influence did things they
normally would not have done. And they and their families pay the price,
sometimes for decades. There ain’t no easy way out, yet many look for it in
things, something that can ease the pain. Or prolong the inevitable. Something
to show an escape route, so desperate that they will try anything. And when the
escape escapes them, some will finally take their own life. Brave or chicken
not for me to decide, but those that are left behind suffer. Close the wound
and hide the scar, but the pain remains. Many ask what does love have to do
with it, I can tell you from experience that love has everything to do with
it.
While we may have to screw up, to obtain mercy, that is one of the
qualifications, God’s grace is readily available, does not depend on us, and is
in action without us even knowing it. Saved or unsaved, God’s grace is there.
But we tend to think of grace as for us, a personal gift from a loving God who
sent Jesus to save us, but many times he uses us to pass his grace through to
others. We get to be a part of the grace he has for others, just because he
loves us, not because we have the abilities, or even availabilities. It is
coming up on 3 years since my open heart surgery, where God has performed many a
miracle in the fact I am not dead, but alive. No one else in medical history
had what I did, and a loving God and his grace got me through it to share with
others. But in it I saw a whole new side to grace, and found my thoughts of
grace were selfish, all about me, with a thanks to God. Sometimes. But grace
was about to be even more amazing than the song we sing...
A few weeks after release from the nursing home for rehab, I asked God “why
didn’t you take me home?” I had been described as the sickest person they had
ever seen who wasn’t dead, and as close to death as you can come without dying.
His words were not what I expected. “So that your wife is not a widow, and
your sons are not orphans.” Suddenly grace wasn’t all about me, and I was glad
it wasn’t. But God wasn’t done, although I was happy with his answer. When he
knew I was ready, he took me to the next step. We had all had a particularly
bad year, from a house fire to my dad dying, to Andrew’s serious motocross
crash, and God took me deeper. “I showed grace so you could see how well your
sons were doing.” Things had changed and everyone was working, recovering, and
enjoying life. A full 180 from where we had been. Yes, grace is a good thing,
I will agree with God. It was for me, but again not all about me.
Finally he showed me an even better way, and how selfish I had been. Not
knowing how selfish, but being shown in a loving way. “I showed you grace so
that your sons could see you seeing them successful.” True to form, when God
gets the glory, the blessings flow, but grace needs no conditions, just as God’s
love for us doesn’t. And as much as I look forward to heaven, I am glad I was
saved from death to see my sons successful. And them see me see them, and still
around today. After what I went through death would have been the easy way out
for me. It is tougher to be earthbound after seeing heaven, and I have just
like the scripture tells us, there is no way to describe it other than “I want
to go back.” But God’s ways are different, and being here for my family has
shown me grace, some so amazing I cannot find words. Only an infinite God can
love like that, and no finite words can describe him. There ain’t no easy way
out...yet there is. His name is Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and lean not
on our own understanding. Yet we try to figure things out, pick which battles
to fight, and only consult God when all else fails. The saddest words spoken in
hospitals are “we have tried everything else, I guess it’s time to pray.”
Fortunately grace doesn’t wait for an invitation. It is at work in us right
now, some see it, some don’t, some others deny it. But God’s love for you is so
great he gave his son, and if he gave the most precious thing he ever had,
imagine what else he can do for you. When my aorta exploded, all hope was lost,
but yet Dr. Walsinsky didn’t panic, later telling me “it is obvious that God
intervened.” When every doctor or nurse gave me up for dead, Jesus didn’t. His
work in me wasn’t finished, and yours isn’t either. Until the day we face him
in that amazing grace that has no words, we can experience it here on earth.
Jesus told his disciples to pray “on earth as it is in heaven,” where I will
have a perfect heart and no plastic aorta. All sin washed away, no scars, yet
the wounds Jesus bore for us will be evident. He bore our iniquities, he took
the beating. He paid the price. He showed us grace. Amazing.
Jesus is the easy way out for us. Turn to him today in your situation and
find grace. Not what you would expect, you get even more. It is true life is a
battlefield, but we will win the war. Death is defeated. Sin is conquered
along with its wages. Yet the battles continue daily, and we won’t win them
all. Grace changes that, for all things work for good, yet only those in Christ
see it. Coming to Christ opens the door to see, he is the easy way out, and
will take us through the battles. Some tough, some unwinnable, but somehow we
prosper in his grace. So don’t contain the grace God has for you, don’t limit
Christ in your life. Don’t wait until all else fails to call Jesus, the fact
you are reading this this far shows God’s grace to you. He wants to make it
personal, will you let him?
My nine inch scar on my chest shows where Jesus held my heart and saved my
life. But in no way compare to the nine inch nails driven into his hands and
feet. Death is our final reward in Christ. Staying here and serving him is
tough at times. And when there ain’t no easy way out, remember that. Before
you need to. His grace is sufficient, and to me will always be amazing. So
easy a sinner can do it. And you say....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com