Take a moment to imagine that a tragedy has occurred, leaving you poor, homeless, and alone. You wander from town to town, searching helplessly for a gleam of hope but continually failing. You don’t know when you’ll be eating your next meal or where you’ll be sleeping, usually compromising with the nearest park bench or playground. You’re forced to resort to theft for survival, soon ending up in a county jail of a town you’re not familiar with.
A wealthy man, the governor in fact, makes a visit to the institution, strolling down the aisles of cells, glancing slightly at each prisoner. When he gets to you, his gaze lingers awhile. He walks up to your cell and quietly asks the guard to unlock the sliding door. He offers his hand, shaking yours with a firm, confident grip. “Come with me, we’ll get you out of here and cleaned up, how’s that?” You stare back at him in silence, dumbfounded, mouth hung open agape.
Your world becomes flipped upside-down. The governor offers you shelter in his million dollar vacation home, personal chef included, and even trusting you with his old Mercedes. You’re overwhelmed, not at all understanding the situation, but completely gracious none-the-less. How can he offer these perks to a complete stranger, a nobody, a felon?
Thinking that this man must be crazy, you finally gain the courage and ask him why he chose you. Why did he bring you here, and what does he want from you? Why did he take you out of prison? Why are you living in his beautiful home? If he was so willing to give someone property, couldn’t he have found someone that deserved it?
With compassion filled eyes, the man responds with one sentence:
Because I can recognize a diamond in the coal.
“God decided to adopt us into his own family by
bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.
He has showered his kindness on us.
He will give us the inheritance we were promised
and become His own people.”
(Ephesians 1)
God’s grace is so powerful. So captivating. So life-changing.
Living a life of sin is fun for a season, and I’ve definitely partaken in my fair share of sinful pleasures.
But the heavenly Father pulled me from the pit, flooding my heart with light and offering me an inheritance of peace and joy that I didn’t deserve.
As Christians, we become official members of the most royal family of all, completely free of charge.
xoxo p
