Stunned by Grace, Max Lucado

STUNNED BY GRACE

by Max Lucado

I've never been surprised by God's judgment, but I'm still stunned by

his grace.

God's judgment has never been a problem for me. In fact, it always

seemed right. Lightning bolts on Sodom. Fire on Gomorrah. Good job,

God. Egyptians swallowed in the Red Sea. They had it coming. Forty

years of wandering to loosen the stiff necks of the Israelites?

Would've done it myself. Ananias and Sapphira? You bet.

Discipline is easy for me to swallow. Logical to assimilate. Manageable

and appropriate.

But God's grace? Anything but.

Examples? How much time do you have?

David the psalmist becomes David the voyeur, but by God's grace becomes

David the psalmist again.

Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ.

Zacchaeus, the crook. The cleanest part of his life was the money he'd

laundered. But Jesus still had time for him.

The thief on the cross: hellbent and hung-out-to-die one minute,

heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Prayer after prayer. Surprise after surprise.

Seems that God is looking more for ways to get us home than for ways to

keep us out. I challenge you to find one soul who came to God seeking

grace and did not find it. Search the pages. Read the stories. Envision

the encounters. Find one person who came seeking a second chance and

left with a stern lecture. I dare you. Search.

You won't find it.

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From When God Whispers Your Name

Copyright 1994 Max Lucado