” It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10
“ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
1 Corinthians 13:5
I spent the better part of this evening, sweeping up glass from a shattered backboard resulting from pressure building up behind it during today’s tropical storm. The sound of it exploding was similar to a transformer popping as winds exceeded 80 mph near our home. The board busted into about a million pieces sending glass shards into the grass and 75 feet down the driveway. All I could think about was my children running outside barefooted and falling into danger. I thought about their friends coming up the driveway with only their socks on and the damage it might do to their feet and then their hands when they stopped to remove it.
As I spent the next several hours scouring the concrete and surrounding yard for anything sharp and splintered in still swirling and shifting 40 mph winds, I regretted not replacing the goal when I had the chance. Two weeks before the storm hit, a rock was thrown into back of the pane by a weed eater leaving a small crack in the top. I put off replacing it due to cost and spent the evening regretting that decision.
God reminded me in His perfect provision of appointments that my sin is a lot like this. Whether it be jealousy, rage, envy, greed, pride, lust or fill in the blank, ignoring an infraction long enough and waiting for the perfect moment to address it, can leave my house unprepared when the storms of life come, susceptible to the pressure building in from the rear and then exposed to the carnage from the debris field left behind when everything erupts.
I can be the world‘s best at holding a grudge. I can throw some of the most memorable pity parties. Letting go of the scorecard was never my strong suit. What it boils down to is me not depending on God. That is the source of all of my problems. I can preach a good game, write something that resonates or give generously to the poor, and then place a cheap bet on God showing up leaving the actual statistics one might find in the academic trust journal of my life as questionable.
Jesus Christ constantly and consistently reminds how many times we should forgive the people and situations around us. He reminds what His death did for us when we did not know what we were doing, and just how far we are separated from our sin when we trust in Him for salvation. He perfectly models grace by relinquishing the ledger and for this born again believer, He is worth every dollar I could ever possibly spend addressing it and every hour I could ever possibly spend on my knees pulling my fragmented life from the grass in order to glorify Him and protect those He loves.
