Waiting on Jesus, part 24: monuments to the miracle of grace.

He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. (Luke 8:54-55 NASB)

To Jesus, that dramatic miracle of healing was one part of a day filled with miracles. That little girl was equally as important, equally as precious as all the other people who received miracles that day. She was as important to Jesus as Jairus and his wife. 

To Jairus and his wife, however, that two-word miracle of "Child, arise!" was the most amazing and important thing they had heard in their entire lives. When Jesus took their hopelessly dead daughter by the hand and helped her to sit up, restored, everything in their world changed. Their understanding of God, of Jesus changed. For the first time in their lives, they knew the Almighty. God had invaded their home and their hearts and turned everything right side up. 

Their miracle of grace was more than having their daughter restored. The God they had worshipped and to whom they had sacrificed all their lives knew their names, cared about their heartaches, and was willing to do the impossible for them. From that day forth, every time they looked at their daughter, they experienced that miracle all over again. Her life was a monument to the miracle of grace she and her parents had received. 

We, too, were condemned to death by our sin and given new life through the blood of Christ. We, too, should be monuments to that miracle of grace. Our lives should reflect the grace and glory of God in such a way that all who see us will be utterly amazed at what God has done in our lives.  As we face the trials of life, even the utterly hopeless moments of life,  the evidence of grace and the hope we have in our Lord should be clearly visible to those around us. We should stand as a road sign, pointing the way to God. We should serve as evidence of the power of God, but do we?

Selah. Pause and consider. 

If people look to us for the evidence of God at work, what do they see?  Can they find enough evidence to support a decision to believe?  We may be the only true disciple of Christ some people will ever know. Are we a monument of the grace of God for them?

Pray today that the evidence of God's grace in our lives will be so clear that our loved ones, as well as those with whom we have contact, will be drawn to Christ by what they see in us.  

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Link to last night's post is here: I got a little side tracked on Friday Night with Friends. Instead, here's a little story about my daily fig. "It wasn't long before I walked to the barn one morning, paused at the fig tree, and thought, "Give me this day my daily fig.""...

http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/my-daily-fig.html