October 31, 2018

God Loves Us Anyway

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14

My youngest dog can’t seem to help himself. He knows what he should and shouldn’t do. He does. But he repeatedly does what he shouldn’t and, then, expects grace and mercy when confronted with his sin. He sounds a lot like you and I, doesn’t he?

I wonder how many times God has looked down and shook His mighty head as I repeated the same mistake – over and over and over. I’m sure He has wondered if I would ever get it right. And, yet, God has given me chance after chance and He has always forgiven me and taken me back into His arms.

We love that grace and mercy, don’t we? We are grateful to Jesus for dying for us. We are thankful for second and third and tenth chances. But we aren’t always so gracious when it comes to the mistakes others have made.

I get it. Forgiveness is hard. Moving past a wrong is difficult. Forgetting is impossible. Until we remember that we’re to offer others what God has given to us.

It doesn’t mean we all get a pass on repeating the same mistakes again and again. Life comes with consequences. In my dog’s case, that means time with a muzzle to remind him that it’s not okay to destroy something like his sister’s bed. For you and I, the consequences vary. But make no mistake about it, there are always consequences.

Sometimes it means that we don’t receive the blessings we otherwise might have gotten. Sometimes it means that the journey is longer than it needed to be or harder than it should have been. Sometimes we hurt people and sometimes they hurt us.

The path laid out before us is narrow. We glance to the right or left and, before we realize it, we’ve veered off course. We pray and seek God’s will, focus once again and Jesus and we’re headed down the right road. Until we stumble again.

What really breaks my heart is the realization that sometimes I grieve the Holy Spirit because I don’t make right choices. God has done so much for me and I owe Him a debt I could never repay. I want to do His will. I do. It’s just that sometimes I stumble. Sometimes I do the wrong thing.

Yet, God loves us anyway. Just like I love my little dog. This is his forever home. And I know that my forever home is with God. Thank you, Jesus! I don’t ever have to wonder about where I’m headed or whether I’ll be welcome. I already know the answer. I hope you do too.