A Safe Place for People Who Mess Up Big Time
Deuteronomy 19:2-3 (NLT)
“You must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you. . . . . 'If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety.'" Deuteronomy 19:2-3 (NLT)
The Following is from a Poem inscribed in the Statue of Liberty
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Pastor’s Blog
Do you remember the words to the song “Amazing Grace?” The part I remember is “saved a wretch like me”. I’ve often thought about people in prison and had the additional thought, “there but by the Grace of God could I have gone”.
Have you ever thought how many stupid things you’ve done could have ended very badly (even in the death of another) but didn’t? I think the power of Grace is at work EVERYWHERE and we simply take it for granted to the point we don’t even notice. We don’t notice that the natural order of things is for things to go bad, but that there is a force in the world called Grace initiated and sustained by God which turns bad and potential bad into good.
Today’s passage makes it a law for Israel that people who have committed manslaughter (different from homicide) get a break. That’s a recognition that we humans are prone to big time mess ups in our lives. God knows we’ll never obey perfectly and He takes that into account. But not until the cross do we know how much it costs Him. It cost Israel too. They had to go to great trouble to make arrangements for this grace.
On Sunday, as you celebrate Independence Day, consider what it is that makes America great. Think of Emma Lazarus’ poem (above) and think, too, about the word "refuge". It’s a very beautiful word. How does God use you as a “refuge” for others?
Thank you Lord for your Amazing Grace!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for continuing to give those of us who have screwed up big time reminders that sometimes, despite our best intentions, it happens. So often we spend so much time worrying that others will judge us, or won't forgive us, that we completely forget to forgive ourselves and that we are not perfect. It's good to know that there is grace and we are still loved despite the imperfections.
ReplyDeleteI am 'catching up' with scriptures I missed and just came to this one. We saw a movie last week called "Winter's Bone" that takes place about thirty miles from where I grew up. It concerns poor, undereducated,suspicious families who are unwilling to accept that cooking meth is not a way to pay the rent. They live in a world of their own with a law of their own...i.e. if a woman needs 'straightening out' then women, not men, beat her up. God's grace got me out of there when I was twelve or I would have been one of those hollow eyed women with great grandchildren at 45. I am humbled by a love that took me from such a poor background and showed me the world and gave me such a wonderful family, all by Grace.
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