Wormy Apples, But Some Great Applesauce

Last fall, the apples from my only apple tree were terribly riddled with wee worm tracks, but I managed to salvage enough good apple parts from half a pail of apples to get a big jar of great applesauce.

I read of a man who felt that his life was so riddled with sin that there was no hope for him.

He felt contaminated by sins that a person had committed against him away back when he was seven years of age. He felt hopeless — he was going to hell. Too, he felt that there was no redemption for him from the personal sins that he had committed all his life. He thought that he was unforgivable. He raged at God. When his son became seven years of age, he raged at his son. He raged at his wife.

Then came the day when he fell on his knees at his bedside and asked for forgiveness. "Cleanse me; take over my life," he prayed. He had not previously believed that Christ would come into his life. But now Jesus' Spirit was in him. He began to see more and more of God's love in Jesus his Saviour.

Ephesians 2:3b-10 – Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

A Webster's dictionary shows that a meaning of grace is "the unmerited love and favour of God toward man."

Let us absorb more and more of His Word, through reading and hearing the Bible, and so enjoy more and more of His way.

Prayer: Lord God, please guide us in becoming the people You want us to be. We thank You for Your favour to each of us as we learn of Your love through Your Word, the Bible, and through associating with Your loved ones. Amen.

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