Be careful that none of you fails to respond to the grace of God, for if you do there can spring up a bitter spirit which can poison the life of many others.
— Hebrews 12:15
Did you hear the story about the man who was bitten by a stray dog? There was concern the dog might have rabies, so the man was taken to the hospital for some tests. A friend of his heard about the incident and went to visit him. As the friend walked into the room, he saw the dog-bitten man writing furiously on a legal pad.
The visitor quickly said, “Rabies can be treated. You don’t have to write a will.”
“Will? I am not writing a will,“ the man replied. ”I am making a list of people I want to bite!”
We get that way sometimes, don’t we? Our righteous indignation gets out of control. We get bent out of shape and want to bite somebody — maybe not with our teeth, but with our words and actions.
The Word gives us guidance as to how to foster good relationships in our lives. One way to guard against biting others is to see them as Christ sees them. God sees others as people to love, forgive, lift up, encourage, and redeem. We should do the same. Talk about something that would help our relationships!
God treated you and me that way. His grace and love has allowed us to be his children. He calls us to share his love and grace with others through our words and deeds each day.
If you are going to make a list today, make it a good one. Make a list of people you are going to encourage and share the grace of God with.