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Riches


In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7)
          There’s an inspirational quote that’s been around for a while: “Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossip, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sarah was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Abraham was old,… and Lazarus was dead. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!”
          We could add to this. Moses didn’t just stutter, he was a murderer. The Jewish people as a whole were disobedient, rebellious, and idolatrous. Rahab was a harlot and a traitor. Tamar played the harlot to seduce her father-in-law, Judah; Judah broke his promises, Most of Israel’s sons were ready to kill Joseph, but sold him into slavery because that way they profited from getting rid of him. Bathsheba committed adultery. Peter denied Him three times. James, John, and their mother were politically ambitious. We could go on but you get the idea. 
          The conclusion is that God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called, and I think that’s true, but think about the riches of God’s grace mentioned in today’s passage. God causes the sun to shine on the good and the evil, and rain to fall for the rich and poor. In Exodus, He showed that He could plague one side of “the tracks” and not the other. But generally speaking, He doesn’t. 
          We would understand if God gave redemption and forgiveness to people who never did nothing wrong, or whose sins we think trivial, but we all have our lists of people to whom we can’t imagine God granting grace. And yet God has so much grace that giving to them, and perhaps especially to them, doesn’t deplete his treasury. 
          I’ve spent most of the day doing other stuff, and I’m coming back to this when I should be working on my book. What comes to mind is that we try to get in the way of God’s grace. We try to tell God that this person doesn’t deserve His grace, or we try to tell Him that that person doesn’t need God’s grace. Either they’ve done nothing wrong or it isn’t their fault. 
          Is it blindness that tries to keep the riches of God’s grace away from someone? Or is it foolishness? Or is it hatred?

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