Pray for Restoration

As we grow to become more like Christ, our behavior grows more distinctive from the world. Believers should be known for their eagerness to do good and help others.

Get it straight: Someone who sees grace as permission to sin has missed grace entirely. Mercy understood is holiness desired. "[Jesus] gave himself for us so he might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to him--people who are always wanting to do good deeds" (Titus 2:14)

Note the last phrase: "people who are always wanting to do good deeds." Grace fosters an eagerness for good. Grace doesn't spawn a desire to sin. If one has truly embraced God's gift, he will not mock it. In fact, if a person uses God's mercy as liberty to sin, one might wonder whether the person ever knew God's mercy at all.

When my father gave me his [credit] card, he didn't attach a list of regulations. There was no contract for me to sign or rules for me to read. He didn't tell me to place my hand on the Bible and pledge to reimburse him for any expenses. In fact, he didn't ask for any payment at all. As things turned out, I went a few weeks into the semester without using it. Why? Because he gave me more than a card; he gave me his trust. And where I might break his rules, I wasn't about to abuse his trust.

God's trust makes us eager to do right. Such is the genius of grace. The law can show us where we do wrong, but it can't make us eager to do right. Grace can. Or as Paul answers, "Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants" (Romans 3:31). ~ From In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado via the Life Lessons in my Devotional Bible.

This reminded me of something that happened several years ago. Sugar Pop's daughter Rosebud was driving to visit her sister - a six hour drive. Her car was fairly reliable, but we gave her one of our cell phones just in case she had any problems. We explained that he had limited minutes on our plan and that we just wanted her to have a phone in case she had any problems. She racked up over $300 in charges on the phone during that trip. She totally abused our trust. I could go one at list similar incidents with her, but that would only serve to make me angry. Please just pray for her because she is estranged from her parents, grandparents, siblings, and her own daughter. Mostly she is estranged from God. If her relationship with God is restored, all the other relationships in her life will be restored.