I saw a good example of sharing grace today. For illustration sake pretend that water is grace and we are an empty bowl. Take a bowl and pour a bottle of water into it. Now, gently, sway the bowl around in your hands. If you move it around more and more you’ll likely see a little water slosh out.

That’s grace coming out.

Whatever we fill our lives with is what’s going to slosh out when we get rattled.

If we had poured something acidic into the bowl, perhaps a Coke, that’s what would have sloshed out when we swayed the bowl around.

Water is the base of life. If a little sloshes out it’s not going to damage anything. In fact it may make something grow.

But on the other hand, if the acidic Coke sloshed out we’d have a bit of a mess. We’d need to clean it up.

It’s the same with our lives. Whatever we put into our lives is what is going to spill out.

That guy that broke in line in front of you at the grocery store may have rattled you the other day. What spilled out?

That delivery person that didn’t perform their task to your expectations, what spilled out?

We’ve all been in positions that have rattled us. Sometimes we are having a bad day and Coke spills out. We can’t unspill it. It’s too late. We’ve made a mess and now we have to clean it up.

We need to be careful about what we put into our lives. It’s going to come out eventually.

I remember one day, many years ago, when I was sitting and talking with my grandmother, she said something that stuck with me. She said, “Have you ever noticed that when some people get old they get bitter and hateful? Then there are other people that get older and they mellow out and become a joy to be around.”

I nodded and said, “Yes. I’ve noticed that.”

Then she leaned back in her rocker and replied, “I’ve decided that I want to be among the latter.”

And she did. She was one of the nicest people I have ever known.

She made a choice to fill her life with goodness and grace.

I’ve known others that evidently didn’t choose to be nice. I was always uncomfortable in their presence.

I think I’m going to choose to fill my life with love and grace. Maybe a few jellybeans or Hershey’s kisses, too.

I’m sure there are going to be times when something else may spill out. I hope not. But if it does I intend on cleaning it up.

But my first choice is to not let that happen. I’d prefer to be remembered like my grandmother. - One of the old nice people.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

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Rick Algood
May 3, 2020