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
It can make good things better! Thanksgiving is quickly disappearing in the rearview mirror. Especially because of these crazy it was good to get together with family and rejoice and remember. I know from this side of the fence the Taylor cooks are off the scale good. Our menu, at least the one that list the side dishes, is almost set in stone. Mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, strawberry pretzel salad and other salads (the kind that make you like salads), Apple pie…well you get the idea. There is one thing that plays a minor role at our Thanksgiving table…gravy.
Now I am a Southern boy and gravy was a big part of my eating life. Momma would regularly make both brown and white gravies for our supper and they were incredible. I remember one time I was reminded that you can have too much of a good thing. She had cooked a roast and one of the things I loved was to take two slices (one wouldn’t do) of bread and then smother, no drown, the bread in gravy. Well, one time it got me. I guess all the goodness in the gravy was too much and I got sick, real sick to my stomach. It wasn’t pretty.
Momma also made a great giblet gravy at Thanksgiving. She would take all those things that are tucked inside the turkey when you buy it, cut them up in tiny pieces and put them in her gravy. Yup…it was incredible. That’s when I began to learn the value of gravy. It could take the driest dressing (not my Momma’s mind you) and make it the best dressing in the world. It worked even better on leftovers. You go back later that afternoon, fill your plate for round 2 of the feast, warm up the gravy and let her fly. The dressing, the potatoes and the turkey all were reborn with a little gravy.
Gravy also can play the role of redeemer with biscuits. Even the best biscuits are almost always made better with a little help. It might be a smattering of butter or butter and honey or syrup and great becomes greater. By far the greatness soul mate of a biscuit is a flood of good sausage gravy. On my goodness—that combination is its own food group. Any good restaurant that serves breakfast is always sure to include that in its offerings. The bottom line is that gravy makes things better.
I know something else that does the same thing—even more so. That is grace. Grace is when we choose to extend something good to someone they really don’t deserve. It might be an act of kindness, a measure of forgiveness or a kind word or two. As a pastor I know people have extended a measure of grace when they commented on some of my sermons. “Best sermon this year, preacher!” Well, truth be known it wasn’t that good—they were just being graceful.
Now get this. Just like a good gravy can make ordinary or less than extraordinary food taste incredible—grace can do the same thing. Families are stronger, relationships are better, teams at work are more productive when grace gravy is poured all over them. You know the circumstances of these last eighteen months have fractured relationships like crazy. It is dividing families, friends and, yes, churches. I think we need to pour some gravy—some grace—all over it. If we don’t we are going to have some scars that time won’t heal. If that happens and when this thing is all over, we might be able to heal it up but the scars will be forever visible.
If you are a Jesus follower then you should be a grace expert. You know that God extended grace, His unmerited favor, to you and forgave all your failures, sins, and warts. If you understand redemption right you know you didn’t deserve it—He just did it because of His love for broken people. Grace makes the impossible possible. Grace, like a good gravy, can redeem the worse and restore the driest. God talks a whole lot about grace in His Book. I encourage you to Google it and be amazed at grace—God’s grace. It is so amazing they even wrote a song about. Perhaps you’ve heard it—Amazing Grace.
Sometimes when I order at a restaurant I will order my gravy on the side. Let’s be honest—not every place can make good gravy. But when it comes to God’s grace don’t ever get it on the side. Just ask God to pour it on heavy—flood the plate of your life. The Book says that through faith in Jesus we have redemption through His death on the cross. When we believe that, God forgives our sins through His grace which He lavishes on us. Wow and bring on the gravy—bring on the grace. So if your life is like a dry biscuit take a break and ask God to pour on the grace. And if you are overwhelmed because of life and it’s left you like so much dry turkey, ask God to pour on grace and you will soon be revived because…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 