For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
They say that God works in mysterious ways. Last week God showed up in three very different ways on three very different days. Now if you aren’t a God follower you might write this off as chance and circumstance, but my life and faith journeys won’t let me do that. Regardless, sit back and enjoy the story.
If you are a Grits reader you know that my day job is leading a church. I am the senior pastor (by position and by age) at a local church so God plays a big part of my walkabout life—both at church and otherwise. Well, it all started on Sunday. It was a special day because we had a guest visiting our church who works in another part of the world. She is a good friend of ours and our church. We have visited her and served with her several times in another country. She shared about her work at a brunch we held and also some in our services. And it was so good.
Our worship services consist of two big parts—the music part and the Word part. The Word part is when I get to share with the folks both in the room, on the radio, Facebook Live, and YouTube. I love it…when it goes right. Smile. Well, this particular day, the music part was just awesome, and the sermon came together in a way that only God could orchestrate. He was good.
We also gathered our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. If that doesn’t ring a bell just google it and you will discover one of the most purposeful things you can do to help kids and share the Good News of Jesus. Basically, you fill a shoebox with kid’s stuff, pray for that special child and then drop it off at a collection point. Samaritan’s Purse will ship the box (about 12 million of them) around the world with the purpose of sharing the love of Jesus and making some child’s day. It is awesome. Well, that day we collected our boxes, all 519 of them, and the climax was our kids marching in carrying a bunch of filled boxes. It was very good.
So, when I was giving some closing comments at the end of the service, I told the folks that this was a “trophy Sunday.” What I meant was that it was the kind of day that you put in the special part of your brain where you put memories that you don’t want to forget. Just like a trophy reminds you of a special event, so that day was one we should keep safe because one day, someday, you just might need to be reminded that God is indeed good.
You see, not every day is a trophy day. Not every day is going to be cloudless and sunny. There are going to be days that make you wonder “what in the world was God thinking?” It may be one of those days when you think “how could a good God ever allow something like this happen?” It may be one of those days that rub you wrong…like a cheap, scratchy wool sweater. We all have them, don’t we? When one rolls around, you simply go to your trophy shelf and remember that God is good and even that is bigger than it sounds. You see God doesn’t just do good…He is good. And that is true even when our world goes south. And sometimes it will.
The biggest trophy on my trophy shelf is a bloodied, Roman cross. It is where Jesus died a sacrificial death…not for His benefit but for ours. His death that day paid the price for the sin, the messes, the brokenness of an entire world. And God said if we would believe what He did and choose to follow Him, we could have His love on our trophy shelf forever. I know in today’s world that sounds hokey but trust me, it is anything but. Go ahead check it out, check Him out. It is a trophy worth having. One of the best-known verses in the Bible is John 3:16. It simply says that God loved the lot of us—all of us—so much He allowed His only Son to die so that anyone who believed in Him, could live forever. Like I said, check it out. Hey, and watch Grits for the next couple of days for parts two and three of “Three Days.” It is a story that gives weight to the fact that, “He’s got this.” See you then. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 