According to the Jersey Shore nick name generator my nick name is The Incident. Very few people understand how extremely true to the bone that nick name is until they date me. I understand that I’m not always an easy person to deal with. I have ups and downs, good days and bad days, and I love people and I hate people and I repent and try to love people again. Without God I’d be straight up depressive trouble most days, and an addicted mess on the other days. Hence my deep gratitude for grace.

“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth”  – Isaiah 54:4

With every drop of blood that was shed at the cross another chance for life was given to us, and not because we deserve it in any way. The legalistic, moralistic ways of the world like to do their best to pervert the truth, which is that there are some people that you don’t like that will get saved and we’re called to love them.  I like the way the woman who writes for Grace is for Sinners puts it:

“God’s grace is sufficient. You don’t get to pick your terms and sometimes this journey feels backward and forward at the same time. When you have to rely on grace, it’s a hard walk of faith to travel the territories run by a force working against you. But who can be against you when God is for you? People will look at your journey and wonder why you’re traveling there, why you’re keeping company with the other side. They’ll discredit you, slander you, and try to stop you all the while thinking they’re doing God a favor.”  (Grace is for Sinners)

Sometimes I see this happening in real life, where people believe that they have the ability to pick and chose who would be a good follower of Christ based on their standards or opinions.  I pray that I don’t do that.  I pray that I am able to follow Jesus without stopping to turn around and judge fellow Christians as if I have a right to.  As if I have been so redeemed that I can set some sort of standard for holiness.  No matter what is going on in my life, no matter where I am or what I’m dealing with, I can only hold tightly to the truth: that I am the worst of all sinners but He loves me anyway.