The Gift Of God

By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

A story of God’s incredible grace:

“Once, before AC, old-time Sunday school picnics were common. They said, ‘We’ll meet at the park at 4:30. You bring your supper; We’ll do the tea.’

You came home at the last minute, ready to pack your lunch, and all you found was a dried-up piece of baloney, just enough mustard in the bottom of the jar so that you got it all over your knuckles trying to get it out, and two stale pieces of bread. You made your sandwich, wrapped it in a brown bag, went to the picnic, sat at the end of the table, and laid out your sandwich.

But the folks next to you — the lady was a good cook and had worked all day and had fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, homemade rolls, sliced tomatoes, and topped it off with two big home-made chocolate pies. They spread it all out beside you……and there you were with your baloney sandwich.

But then they said to you, ‘Why don’t we put it all together?’ ‘Oh no, I couldn’t do that,’ you murmured. ‘Oh, come on. There’s plenty of everything and we just love baloney sandwiches! Let’s put it all together.’ And so, you did….and there you sat…. eating like a king when you came like a pauper.”

The point? We bring our little, and God brings his much, and in his Amazing Grace, God says “Let’s put it all together.” If we will only accept it in  faith, God has a feast for us when we are hungry, healing for us when we’re hurting.

God can satisfy the emptiness within us. As the old hymn says, “He can make the wounded whole. He can heal the sin-sick soul” through the healing power of his love! By Miles Holladay

(from, “Come Share the Being,” by Bob Benson)