Three Examples of God’s Grace (Part 1)

It was beautiful.

Whenever our family travels to another country, we always try to bring back a painting or piece of art for a lasting memory. The giclee we discovered at the Jonna White art gallery in downtown St. Thomas was perfect. A vacant wall in our house upstairs needed a splash of color and this would make that area come alive.

It would also provide a lasting memory of our journey to the Caribbean.

The vendor rolled the art up in a tube to protect it for travel. He handed it to me and we headed back to the water taxi to return to the hotel.

When we arrived at the elevator of the hotel my husband asked, “Where’s the print?” I looked down, and to my horror, I didn’t have it.

I thought back to the last time I remembered holding the art. We only stopped at two locations, a bench to wait for the water taxi, then we rode in the boat as it transported us back to our hotel dock. I was certain the only place I’d lay the tube down was in the water taxi. We didn’t have time to check the bench anyway because we needed to head to the airport, so my husband ran to catch the boat before it left to cross the bay.

He came back empty handed.

“I made it to the dock in time before the boat took off but the captain said it’s not there.”

I was devastated.

After a beautiful week, this was a downer. “How could I lose something in such a short time? Why didn’t I pay closer attention to what I was doing?” I couldn’t shake my sadness because I felt like I’d thrown money in the garbage.

My husband suggested I call the art gallery to make sure I didn’t leave it there. I knew I hadn’t, and was embarrassed to make the call, but did call and explained the situation in a message.

Not long after, the sales person returned my call and said, “We don’t have your print but email us your address and we will send you a new one.”

Knowing I couldn’t afford to buy a second print, I asked, “How much?” He replied, “This has only happened a few times since we went into business. We will send you a new one for no charge.”

I couldn’t believe it.

No charge after my idiotic mistake? It was my fault, not theirs. I did not deserve to receive a new giclee, but because of their grace, it will arrive in the mail shortly. I was flabbergasted but so grateful. Instead of a lowlight, this will be one of my greatest memories of the trip and will make the artwork even more valuable to me.

Isn’t this like God’s grace?

We don’t deserve it.

We forget about God’s standards and leave them on a bench while we do whatever we want.

We’ve made a lot of mistakes that condemn us to death.

But when we believe in his Son, Jesus, he still gives us eternal life, despite our reckless behavior.

Psalm 103:9-12 says, “He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.”

The root of God’s grace is unconditional love and it is valuable. When we look at our past and realize we’ve been forgiven for everything, we never forget it.

And God wants us to pay it forward.

Who needs your love today?

Who in your life deserves grace even though they don’t deserve it?