But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Last night at youth we showed a Skit Guys video called Grace which was so good. If you have time, you should check it out on their website, http://www.skitguys.com/ and click on the "Grace" video. One of our favorite things from that video was at the end where the Jesus character was telling the Peter character, "I make the unforgivable forgivable." And then he follows up with, "It's not about you, it's about me." Ouch. I have trouble with that one
Anyway, I ran across an illustration that we read to the group on the idea of how grace works and I thought I would share it with you. I had heard it before somewhere, but sometimes I can read something ten times and it takes all ten times for me to finally get it. Here goes.
THE LORD'S BASEBALL GAME
Bob was caught up in the spirit where he and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team. The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate whose name was Love. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because Love never fails. The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.
The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass, because Godly Wisdom does not swing at Satan's pitches. Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly wisdom never swings at Satan's throws.
The Lord looked at Bob and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Bob said he sure did not look like much. Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen. But Satan was not worried. His center fielder, the Prince of the air, let very few get by. The ball slammed into his glove, hit him on the head, and sent him crashing to the ground; then it continued over the fence for a home run.
The Lord's team won. The Lord then asked Bob if he knew why Love, Faith, and Godly Wisdom could get on base but could not win the game. Bob answered that he did not know why. The Lord explained: “If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My grace can get you home. My grace is the one thing Satan cannot stop.”
Isn't that a neat little story? I love things like that that really spell it out for me step-by-step. My question or challenge to you is the same one we gave the youth kids last night: How will you show God's grace to someone else this week?
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