A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his
book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 145). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the
title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
That is so true. As John says, “We need some people who accept
us, welcome us, and love us, no matter what. I need some grace-providers. You
do too. You need them because you have other kinds of people in your life. You
have some ‘grace-impaired’ people in your life, who will judge you and critique
you and remind you of your raggedness in ways that will tear you down.”
He then says, “How do you recognize
these grace-providers? Grace-providers notice things about you; they pay
attention to your heart and life. Grace-providers speak truthfully to you —
both easy words and hard ones. Grace-providers are not people who only say what
you want to hear, but they speak the truth in love. Grace-providers simply
never cease to love you. They see beneath the surface; they see the darkness as
well as the goodness in your heart. But when they see the darkness they do not
pull away. They are not repulsed. They move toward you. You may be a rag doll,
but you are God’s rag doll, and grace-providers never let you forget it.”
Now my desire is also to be one. I don’t just need one but I need to be
one. John says, “It is much harder to be
ungracious to people, to refuse to forgive others, when we’re standing in the
shadow of the cross.” That is so
true.
So do you have a grace-provider and
are you one?
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