Scripture reading
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
–Ephesians 1:7-8
Thought of the Day
A couple of nights ago, my wife and I went to see the new Kevin Costner movie, “Open Range”. It is a pretty good movie but has a lot of violence. It also has a love story as one of the plot lines. That is why I enjoyed it. Beverly seems to like the violence. Hard to understand why. I guess that is just one of the many differences in men and women.
Towards the end of the movie, the character played by Annette Benning, and Costner’s character have a touching moment before he goes off to fight the bad guys. Their relationship is just starting to form. As he is leaving, she reaches around her neck to unclasp a locket that has a picture of her mother in it. She tells him it has always brought her good luck. Costner protests that he cannot take her locket. She smiles and said that it was not his choice because it was a gift from her.
I love taking that thought and relating it to God and the gift of Grace through Jesus the Christ. If we fully understand that it is not what we do to receive this gift of grace we might better accept it. Since it is God’s choice that we receive this gift of grace, we need to do all we can to throw open our hearts to accept it and embrace it. Just remember, it is not your choice.
Prayer
Lord, Thank you for the many gifts you bestow upon us. Amen.