God and grudges

One thing I know:  I am glad that God doesn't hold grudges.

We tend to hold grudges like a pet cat that we are holding.  We stroke the grudge.  We feed the grudge.  We hold it up high for everyone to see.

We love to hear the grudge "purr". 

People around us will remark as to the size of our "grudge" (cat).  How is continues to grow and grow.

I am glad that God doesn't hold grudges.

This evening, in our bible study we will study Romans 5:9-11. 

Paul writes in verse 10, "for if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life."

In other words, if God sent His Son to die on the cross for us while we were his enemies, how much more will he do for us, now that we are his friends?

Good stuff.

A man died and was transported to the pearly gates. 

He was met by an angel who said, “All you have to do is perform one task correctly and you’ll be granted entrance into heaven.  It’s really pretty easy.  All you have to do is spell ‘love.’”

The man sighed in relief and quickly answered: “L-O-V-E.”   The angel then asked the man if he could watch the gate for a few minutes because he had a couple errands to run. 

The man immediately agreed.  As he awaited the angel’s return, he saw another man walk up the pearly gates.  He recognized him as someone he couldn’t stand when he was alive.  In fact, he had incredible conflict with him for many years. 

Seeing who was manning the gates, the man became noticeably anxious.  The gatekeeper said, “Don’t worry, all you have to do is perform one task correctly and you’ll get in.”  The man breathed a sigh of relief and said, “What do I have to do?”  To which his enemy said, “Spell ‘chrysanthemum.’”

Aren’t you glad that there’s no human gatekeeper to God’s kingdom?  Flawed people cannot judge whether someone makes it or not.  The task that needs to be performed has already been completed by Christ. 

It’s through His blood that we have entrance.  We are justified by Jesus through faith, and we’re saved from wrath because we’ve been declared righteous.

I am sooooo glad that God doesn't hold grudges.

Just a thought for a Wednesday.