(our theme for September)

Recently my wife and I lost our oldest son to cancer. As part of my grieving, the thought occurred to me about how I imagine God must have felt at Jesus’s death.

At our son’s celebration of life service and the reception that followed, we learned many things that we hadn’t known about how his life had impacted others. Our prayer is that the impact he made in some lives will lead to a positive impact on still others.

Our experience, of course, doesn’t begin to compare to God’s grief. God – because of his love – had sent Jesus into the world to save it, not condemn it. Jesus’ presence in the world was a gift. The world, except for a few, rejected the gift. How God must have grieved over the world’s rejection of His gift and the killing of Jesus. He must have known the likely outcome from the beginning but still held out hope for a different outcome.

Not all was wasted, however, because a few accepted His gift. They shared it with others who continued to share it. Their numbers continued to increase, and it changed the world they lived in. As we live our lives each moment of every day, let’s remember God’s gift and share it so that the world around us will be more pleasing to God. Then God’s precious gift will not have been wasted on us.

Dear God help us as we live our lives this day that the gift of Jesus is not wasted on us. Help us change the world around us by sharing this gift that you have given to each and every one of us. Amen.

This devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins and read by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.