We crouch behind our walls and fences, readying ourselves for what we’ve learned to fear. We lock all doors, secure the bars. We mentally rehearse our steps, our routes. We twitch at unfamiliar sounds, lie wide awake when branches scrape the roof, and wait for light and morning. Whoever is not us is “other”—a nameless, faceless “stranger” we assume means only harm. “They” are the people unlike us—of different race, perhaps; or language, habits, customs, faiths. We crave the time machine that takes us back to comfort as we knew it. But grace is so remarkably persistent that even locks and fears cannot deter how it reshapes our thinking. When you discover—at long last—that you were “other” to the Lord—that you were threatening to His kingdom, a rebel to His law and rule, and damaging the world with your hostility and hate. And still He loved—still welcomed you into His house, and gave you keys to all the property. He trusted you before you knew you could be trusted; offered you forgiveness—yes—for sins not yet repented of. We were embraced before we even tried to love. “God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:18). So grace remakes our way of seeing those we used to fear—takes down our walls brick after brick—until we learn that difference is a source of joy, that “other” can be “brother,” “sister” “neighbor,” “friend.” The great unlearning has begun. Now stay in grace. -Bill Knott
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LOVE BEYOND OUR LIMITS (February 11, 2022)
SEEING A NEW CONSTELLATION (February 04, 2022)
GETTING PAST REGRET (January 28, 2022)
ANSWERING THE QUESTION (January 21, 2022)
FIXING WHAT’S BROKEN (January 14, 2022)
UNRESOLVED (January 07, 2022)
GENERATIONS OF GRACE (December 31, 2021)
COME ALL, COME NOW (December 24, 2021)
THE WISDOM OF GRACE (December 17, 2021)
ROOM AT THE INN (December 10, 2021)
THE SONG THAT MUST BE SUNG (December 03,2021)
SIMPLE GIFTS (November 26, 2021)
A PRESENT HELP (November 19, 2021)
LOOKING FOR SAFE (November 12, 2021)
TRUSTWORTHY NEWS (November 05, 2021)
THE MEASURE OF FORGIVENESS (October 29, 2021)
GRACE AND TRUTH (October 22, 2021)
GRACE AND SILENCE (October 15,2021)
PERSISTENT GRACE (October 08, 2021
UNSTOPPABLE (October 01, 2021)
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