"Reaching Out For Jesus" -3

And then? That's the words that I heard this morning as I tried to pull myself out of bed. Do I know what it means? I have a couple of clues that have been set before me, and they are more real than I think I want them to be. This mornings devotional in Matthew 5:21-24 was one of them, and it had to do with reconciling with by brother; but more than that, it spoke to my heart about living in unity with one another. Living in unity is not what we might think of when we are angry with one another, that is for sure; but what does in mean to actually live in unity? Grace is something that we can never run out of; God's grace to us, and our grace towards one another; yet, for some reason we think that it is of limited supply, as we bestow grace upon our brother, then wait for the response, as if giving more will be based upon how well they respond to what you have just given them. Then, as I was praying for the Men's Retreat that is starting later today, I noticed that the theme is, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"; as if I just had something confirmed to my heart, and I must be prepared for God to speak. And then, I was reminded of something else; something which is so often not remembered in the midst of our selfish lives: God poured His grace out to those that did not love Him, not waiting for our response to give us more, He kept on pouring it out, and keeps on still, even in the midst of our disobedience!!! Do you know what our problem is? We have been given grace which must be lived out in us, in order to be realized! Do you know what that means? Am I saying that we cannot know God's grace without living it out in our lives towards one another? No, that is not what I meant. What I am saying, is our knowledge of the grace that we have been given, has a life and is alive within us; meaning that the grace by which we have been saved is waiting to be shared, and by not sharing that which we have received, we will not realize what we truly have been given. What is knowledge that is not put to use? Waste...