Infinite Grace

Wife: Goodbye, honey. I'm going out to dinner with another man. Don't wait up, because I probably won't be home tonight.

Husband: I wish you wouldn't go. It's not what's best for you or our relationship.

Wife: Why don't you stop me then?

Husband: Because I love you too much to force you to do what's right. You have to love me for me or not at all.

Wife: I do love you, but I want this. I'll be back someday.

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The next morning:

Wife: Honey, I'm back, and I'm sorry!

Husband: I've missed you so much. (wraps her in a big hug) I forgive you, and I want us to be together again, just like nothing ever happened.

Wife: I don't deserve this.

Husband: I know. But that's not the point. The point is that I love you.


OK, how many of you, after reading that, thought the husband was too loving and too forgiving? How many thought he was a doormat? How many of you wanted to yell at the wife or thought, "If I were the husband, I'd divorce her in a heartbeat?"

You're the wife. All of you. Me, too. We are the bride of Christ. We're supposed to give all of our hearts to Him, and yet we give in to our anger, pride, lust, greed, laziness, and fears. We tell ourselves that we deserve something because we didn't do something else. We say we can't do this for God because someone else may not like it. We go too far when making out with our girlfriends or boyfriends and excuse it because "one thing led to another and before we knew it..." We hold grudges against those who don't give us all the respect we think we deserve, or who offend us or lie to us or cheat us out of something we think we've earned. We judge others and tell ourselves we're better because we "would never do such a thing." We know what's right, and we don't do it. We know what's wrong, and make excuses to do it. Even when there are no excuses, we just decide to do it anyway.

Our hearts do not beat for our God. He knows what we're doing and why we're doing it. Every time we choose something other than Him, He's aware of it and knows our hearts even better than we do. Yet He still somehow welcomes us back. He doesn't beat us over the head with what we've done, even though He has every right to. He doesn't put restrictions on us and demand that we perform to His standards for a set period of time before He'll love us and accept us again. Knowing we'll march right back out the door and cheat on Him again, He welcomes us back.

Why? Because He loves us. It's not because we're valuable. That's the point. If it depended on our value in any way, His love would be insufficient. He loves us, not because of how good we are, for we're nothing; not for what we do, for we can't add to or take away from Him at all; not for the love we can offer Him, because our love is so impure and His love being dependent on ours would make Him subservient in a way to us. He loves us simply because He loves us.

How? I don't know. I don't think we can possibly comprehend it. And that's a good thing, because if we could comprehend it, I don't think it would mean as much. We couldn't be in awe of it when we thought about it like we can be now.

As you go about your day today, try to wrap your head around what you're doing every time you sin, every time you choose something else above God, and then how willingly, how eagerly, He accepts you back. His love and grace are infinite, and thank God for that.