How to Reimburse God

I spent $105 of my own money last week at work for some promo materials.  I needed to be reimbursed, and I was. 

Have you ever needed to reimburse someone for floating you a loan, jump-starting your career, or giving you a leg up?

Haven’t we all. 

And there stands God.  Perhaps He has redeemed you from a life of despair.  Maybe He has given you a second and third and even a forth chance to get life right.

And then our thoughts turn to reimbursement and repayment.

How do you pay back God?

This may help.  Ephesians 2:8-9 talks about being “saved through trust in Christ Jesus.  And even trust is not within us; it too is a gift from God.”

So, God keeps giving, and so far, we’ve made no payment, no attempt to reimburse Him.  You mean the ability to trust is itself a gift from God?

Max Lucado helps me here.  From his book In the Grip of Grace, we read this: “God does what we cannot do so we can be what we dare not dream: perfect before God.”

But perfection comes with a price tag, doesn’t it? 

~The perfect body comes at the expense of a gym membership and a weekly commitment to exercise.

~A great singer pays the price of expensive lessons and hours upon hours of practice.

~The CEO pays the price of grunt work, and working his/her way up the chain of command by putting in long hours, eating the dust of those who have gone before, and doing the mundane so that one fine day they could be THE BOSS.

We are accustomed to paying.  We pay for groceries, clothes, entertainment.  Why not pay God back for some of his charity and a few blessings along the way?

And so, we think we must work at this God thing – teach a class, give money, paint the church fence, sit in a pew, sing the songs, look pious, sound pious, act pious, be pious, feed the homeless, visit the sick.  Surely God is impressed when we do those things. 

Surely, somewhere in all those works some salvation can be found.  Surely, we are paying God back for some of His benevolence.  Surely, we are earning our place in heaven.  Surely?

Again, Ephesians speaks: “Salvation does not come by works, so that no one can boast.”

So, how to I reimburse God?

I receive the gift.  I ask for His invasion into our heart, and receive it, regardless of how good or bad, pretty or ugly, able-bodied or crippled, rich or poor we may be.  I receive.

And then, I do what Matthew 10:8 says – “Freely have you received … then freely give.”

It’s done in that great spirit of love.  I have been loved into the kingdom, and so I reach out in love, using the gifts I have, offering a cup of cold water, offering a piece of bread, offering a word of hope, giving a couple of bucks to a needy one.

I reimburse God by giving to others in love.

That is a strange way to do business, but it is God’s way.

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Meet the Merciful God

God is not an ogre!

He is not looking for ways to punish you.

He is not seeking to trip you up and keep you from His presence.

He IS the God of mercy.  He seeks constantly

to restore and redeem those who have wandered away.  He calls.  He beckons.  He invites. 

Someone noted that God invites us 365 times in the Bible.

“Come to me, all who are weary and heavily weighed down.  I will give you rest.”

“Cast all your cares on Him (G0d), for He cares for you.”

In Exodus 34:6 we find, “God is merciful and gracious. He is slow to anger, and abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

When God looks at you and me, his eyes are not flashing anger, revenge or regret over creating us.  Oh, no. 

His look is one of great compassion, great tenderness.  He realizes that we are like sheep, easily led off the path into the brambles and thickets of what attracts us.  And He seeks for us.

He is the Father in the parable of the prodigal son.  He stands on the front porch every day, looking, hoping, seeing if that might be us trudging our way back home after our times of wandering.

He is MERCY.

The merciful one. 

          The forgiving one.

To borrow from Brennan Manning, “God loves us as we are, not as we should be”.  That is mercy overflowing and abundant.

In my book, The Letters, I attempt to present God as the God of love and grace and mercy.  Many individuals that I meet seem to view God as harsh, the “gotcha” God.  They think God is just waiting for us to step out of line so he can zap us with His heavenly walking stick.

I love how Psalm 145:8 phrases this: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”

Have you met this version of God? 

He IS, and He wants to be a part of your life.

Come to the merciful God who has His arms wide open and will readily receive you. 

He is the God of all the people.  The merciful one.  Your redeemer and friend.

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What Has Grace Done for You Lately?

I had a house-keeper once named Grace.  She was a good house-keeper, but that is not the Grace of whom I speak.

GRACE is the abundant, overwhelming,

constantly flowing GRACE of God.  So, what has GRACE done for you lately?

In John 13 we read of Jesus performing a foot-washing.  He took the bowl and a towel and went to each disciple, knelt down (a humbling act), and began washing their feet.  Dusty feet, some with sores, and cuts, and bruises.  Some were bleeding, some probably smelled badly.  Some needed a manicure.  And Jesus gave an act of grace that day by washing their feet. 

He touched the ugly parts of their lives, the disgusting parts.  He gave grace in that moment.

I have the quote from Maya Angelou in my files.  It speaks of grace.

“When I say … ‘I am a Christian’, I’m not bragging of success.  I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.” 

That is grace. 

And in another place, Maya adds this:

“When I say … ‘I am a Christian’, I’m not claiming to be perfect.  My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.”

What has grace done for you lately?

In the last few years, Carolyn and I have been clinging to the concept of a “life of grace.”  We often speak of the grace of God in our lives, and how we are trying to find ways of extending grace to others with whom we come in contact. 

What has grace done for me lately?  It has changed the way I relate to God.  I open myself up to the grace for each moment, every day, that God is offering.  I thank God for the grace that flows down to me for every situation in which I find myself.  I receive His grace for my past failures, past sins, and I rise up to walk in the newness of His grace. 

I experience grace abundant, overflowing, filling and refreshing my life.  I have a kinder eye and heart for others I meet in my daily schedule. 

Grace is changing me. 

Meet Roger.  He is 71 years old and if he were to race a turtle, the turtle would win.  He walks … slowly.

Roger is my friend.  I have taken on as a ‘grace project’.  Roger is a cigar-smoking, ex-navy guy.  He is rough around the edges, swears like a ‘sailor’ and if I were to quote some of his words, it would turn this page blue.  Roger does not exactly use what we might consider “Christian terminology”.

But he is my friend, and I constantly seek ways to help him.  A month ago, I took him to buy a window fan for our ninety-degree summer days.  I think that was something God wanted me to do. 

Roger is alone now.  No nearby relatives, no close friends, just me and a ‘former stripper’ friend who occasionally checks in on him.  I’m finding ways to insert grace into Roger’s life.  And God is there.

What is grace doing for you?

How is grace showing up in your life?

I tell this story of Roger, not to gloat.  There is no gloating in the meager moments I am able to help him.  But it is what I can do in this time and place.  Grace happens in those moments, and I give it to God for Him to take and apply as needed.

Just yesterday, Roger and I talked.  He thanked me for my friendship and kindness.  He is seeing the grace of God in my small acts. 

I have freely received.  I freely give.

Grace is changing me.  Grace is in me.  Grace is oozing out from me in small drips and spurts.

~I’m not perfect.

~I’m not holy.

~I’m not the wisest owl in the room.

~I’m not the most gifted.

But I am receiving grace from God, and I can share with my fellow man.

That is what grace is doing for me.

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