GRACE LESSONS

The other day we were doing our grocery shopping and we were engrossed in getting those items we needed to buy. The next thing we knew was we heard a bottle crashing on the floor. We turned back and saw that it was Joshua who broke the jar of Nutella. Joshua looked shocked and tried to pick up the broken jar. I guess he was afraid that we would scold him for dropping that jar. But the first thing his daddy did was to tell him not to pick up the glass in case the shattered pieces cut his hand. His daddy was more concerned over his safety than the cost of that Nutella.

Well, Joshua's reaction was natural because that was what most parents might do, which was to scold them for being careless and wasting money like that. We then slowly picked up the jar and said we had to pay for it because we broke it. Joshua asked if we could still eat the Nutella but his daddy said there could be broken pieces of glass in the Nutella, so we got to discard it. We didn't scold or punish Joshua. We just told him to be more careful in future. I said to Joshua that what his daddy did was grace in action. Joshua didn't get punished which was what he deserved for breaking that jar. Instead he got admonished lovingly and forgiven for his carelessness. I could tell that Joshua was very grateful to his daddy and felt that he is a very good daddy.

The Nutella cost us $10 but we felt that it was money well spent for a lesson about grace being imparted to Joshua. Not just that, we taught him about integrity. Since no one saw that we broke that jar of Nutella, we could just chuck it aside but we knew that was wrong. It would be setting a bad example for Joshua. We have to take responsibility for what we have done, which was to pay for it in this case. I told Joshua we should thank God that item wasn't some expensive vase that he broke!

This lesson also reminded me of God's grace toward us. Under the old covenant of law, we will have to pay if we break just one law. The law is perfect but unbending. It cannot help us. Grace on the other hand is personal. John 1:17 says 'the law is given by Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.' Because of what Jesus did for us at the cross, we could receive mercy which means not getting what we deserved: the full punishment for our sins. As if that was not good enough, we received blessings that we don't deserve, that we didn't even earn. I really thank God for His grace, His mercy and loving kindness towards us! We are so blessed!