Green and nice…..grace that is greater!

Today’s blog is a shared one and I will turn it over to Naida to finish later

This is Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007, AND IT IS 6 A.M.

I am sitting in a kitchen in Grenada in what is a very nice apartment . I am sharing it with seven other people including my wife . We are on a short term missions trip helping to provide some hope to grade four students here. The schools are open to us to bring the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to them and it is a thrill indeed to be able to do so. This is the second year in a row that Judy and I have been able to do this; we were in St.Vincent last year.

We have been traveling from school to school and as we do so we have been enjoying the beauty of this island nation. We have also realized that it is a relatively safe place to be.

The beautiful lush vegetation that is so prevalent all over the island is a constant reminder to me of the grace of God and how it covers our sins. And as I look all around at the flora and fauna (how’s that for an ecologically challenged individual?), I am made to realize the greatness and the reality of God. If I were not a believer in a personal God who loves me and cares for me, I would accept Him now as my own personal Savior. I see His handiwork. Truly our God is an awesome God. All this greenery is supported and fed by rich soil and right at this moment, torrential rains…showers of blessing. The old saying (into each life a little rain must fall) is certainly applicable. These verdant valleys and hillsides that are so plentiful here reminds me that it’s in the valley that the greater growth is seen; it’s in the valleys where the larger fruit is found; it’s in the valleys where the sweetest tasting fruit is found. It is difficult sometimes to see the fruit because it is covered by the greenery but it is there just the same and it is protected.

This gives several avenues of thought, one being that we have many valley experiences in life but these trials will make us grow stronger and we will become sweeter if we allow it to happen. For example, there is someone whom you may see as a complainer and you may think that he or she is not as spiritual as you are and that they need to be changed. Perhaps it’s your own attitude that needs change. Maybe, just maybe it is someone the Lord has put in your path for you to love like Jesus wants you to love them. You don’t like that person? So instead of heaping coals of fire upon their head, you throw cold water in their face instead. A missed opportunity to grow.

Or perhaps you are holding men’s persons in respect and God is no respecter of person’s…I’m not talking about giving honour where it is due or being respectful to those who deserve our respect. The Bible is not referring to that but rather it is referring to the way we hold someone who is not as talented or successful or perhaps not as materially blessed as someone else and that may be the fault of the one you have contempt for or it may not be their fault, but you are guilty of respecting one above the other. James 2:1-4 says “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory with partiality. For if there come into your assembly a man with gold rings in fine apparel and there should come in a poor man with filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “ You sit here in a good place”, and say to the poor man, you stand there, or Sit here at my footstool”. “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” Another chance to grow but you blew it? Not only would you have grown but you would have produced fruit abundant. I am using these illustrations because I have been guilty of these very sins. I have had these thoughts and I have judged men's persons and I have been guilty of evil thoughts. And I have been made aware here in Granada of just how wrong that this is as I have met a couple of taxi driver's and a lady who ministered to our needs and realized that although the color of their skin is different than mine' they are just like everyone else and they have shown me what real love is. I have met some real gentle people in Granada who have taught me some valuable lessons about grace. Another thing about these green valleys that I have noticed is how much greener they become after one of these tropical rain showers. These showers of blessing causes our faces to shine and others will be able to see Jesus shining on our countenance.

I have said that the foliage here on Grenada reminds me of God’s grace . There are some things growing in these valleys that are not so pleasant but yet you do not see them for the foliage. They are covered by the foliage. What a tremendous example of His unmerited favor. Grace that is greater than all my ugly sin.

I said that this blog would be a shared blog as I am going to turn it over to Naida to finish. Note the beautiful scenery; photography by Naida.