Grace

We're doing a series on grace in the youth group right now and I was asked if I would tell about a time in my life when I deserved to be punished but someone showed me grace. I thought for a long time and thought up a lot of stories where I had done something worthy of punishment, but every time I got what was comming to me. I've been in trouble more than once, but I've always received an appropriate consequence (that I can think of).

This was really dissappointing to me. Grace is my favorite subjects from the gospels, so I really wanted to share something with the students. It made me sad that I couldn't. Then I remembered what it is about grace that moves me so much. I've done a lot of sinful and wrong things in my life. I am going to feel real shame when I'm standing before my Creator because I know that I deserve to spend eternity seperated from him. I deserve to be punished, like I have been through out my entire life. My pride. My hateful thoughts. My false idols. My lust. When I stand in front of the One who knows everything about me, I will have no doubt what my punishment will be. Grace is when he says to me: "Well done, my good and faithful servent. Welcome to your reward."

That grace is available to us now. Christ showed me grace when he allowed himself to be torchered and put to death. He took the punishment that I deserve so that I wouldn't have to.