Tell a joke, I might get it right away or a few minutes later, I have been known to ask for an explanation occasionally. I wish slow reaction to punchlines was the only time it takes me longer to process things but alas, it's not. My husband tells me I think too much and perhaps he's right, over thinking can lead to more than just a headache. Many times I end up with more questions than answers. There's a great online magazine called "Mentoring Moments for Christian Women" and every once in a while I have something posted there. I tell you that to tell you this, when the 2011 theme and topics were announced (Grace-full living) I didn't get it. Immediately, I began to evaluate my understanding of the word grace.
I visited Amazon.com and ordered a couple of books by well known theologians. I Googled. I prayed. I performed a Bible search of the word grace and it's New Testament usage. I looked up the Greek word "charis" and it's various definitions. Not surprisingly, these things all just caused more questions for me. My research did prepare me for the lesson ,I believe, God had in store. A lesson geared just for me and my need of examples and illustrations.
I have several houseplants, one of which is called crown of thorns. This particular plant has been inside and thrived for more than 4 years but suddenly the leaves began to wither and yellow and then started dropping fast. I resigned myself to the loss of yet another plant. (I've recently lost two palms.) When the crown of thorns got down to two leaves total on the four shoots and even they were yellowing, I knew I had to let it go. As I picked up the terracotta pot to trash the plant, I noticed the tips of each shoot had become a bright green, it would seem the pronouncement of it's death may have been a bit hasty. I expect that within a matter of months, my plant's tiny red blooms will be abundant and sharing their beauty with the Cagle household once more.
Crazy as it sounds that's when it clicked. God's grace is his unmerited attention, favor and gift. I have no doubt that nothing escapes His attention or that He can use a houseplant to teach because that is exactly what He did for me. He took notice of my little plant and allowed it to live. Although the crown of thorns appeared to me to be beyond hope, God took notice and gave it new life in kind of the same way he does for humanity. He offers a relationship with His one and only son that will bring us from certain death to the certainty of an eternal life. Salvation is a gift of grace and every blessing (spiritual or material) of my life is unmerited. I love that my God is willing to dumb things down just for me sometimes.
