It’s such a simple thing. Open the Book and see where it leads. The Book this morning is believed to be written by a fellow named John. As I opened It to the place marker, my eye fell on the terms ‘grace for grace’. Hmmm. Reading the reference notes, the rabbit trail began in Exodus 32-34. After the plagues of the earlier chapters of Exodus, these children of God were in the desert while Moses, their leader, took way too long on the mountain meeting with God. They grew discouraged and wandered to other gods. Such a human level of events.
What other gods? The obvious is the golden calf. They wanted something, anything tangible to worship. We could discuss this for awhile; all the material goods there are to be desired…BMWs and color tvs according to Janis Joplin years ago. And gods according to methods of escape- entertainment of all sorts and it was a sexual society as most are; I won’t prompt the imagination here.
Then I thought of Grace and Exodus 12 documents the Passover, grace given to the children of God by way of protection. If you aren’t familiar with the account of this event, it’s remarkable reading. Grace for grace. God was gracious to provide a way out of oppression and darkness for his people, yet once escaped into the desert, past the Red Sea miracle of passing those waters on solid enough soil to walk across…they needed more grace. They got out into that desert and when their man, Moses, took too long on the mountain, they wanted something else NOW! Demanding tones, frustration and frenzy no doubt ensued. Yet God understood their needs, their humanity. After all, He was their Creator as He is ours. He gets us. Then the question: Do we get Him? Do we even try to know Him? Do we consider His perspective?
Ah, but this is about the joy. The joy of looking back at historical accounts through the eyes of inspired folks who were there or handed down the ancient stories word of mouth until they were recorded in writings. Passover has always intrigued me and we are told not to forget this early graceful act of God. Yet, even though they wandered from gratitude in their discouragement and actively opposed him, He was gracious toward them. How ? He provided direction, food and shelter. He stayed close to them even though they strayed from Him. They grumbled ,complained and whined. Does this sound familiar? It does to me. And here’s the joy- no matter the circumstances in our life, we have a God who does not vary. He is consistently loving us and showing us Grace whether we recognize it or not.
Grace for grace. He’ll get us out of a bad spot and won’t leave us hanging out to dry. It may not be easy; we may not understand. But it’s the Truth. And that’s the joy!
Within this thought process I see several other rabbit trails:
turning to other gods and how that applies to our present day situations
“…show me now your way that I may know you…” Ex. 33.13 and present day application.
happiness vs joy-what’s the difference?
Thanks for sharing my happy place. Joy for your day!
Beth's Blog 