Read: Matthew 5:43-48

He makes His sun rise on
the evil and on the good.
-Matthew 5:45

My bill came to $4.40. The dollar bills and change in
my pocket left me 40 cents short.

A man standing nearby quickly handed me 40 cents.
“Here,” he said, “and God bless!” His generosity took
me by surprise. Before leaving, I thanked him again.
“That’s the way the world works,” he replied.

That man’s kindness reminded me of the common grace
God extends to a fallen world. Our world works because
of God’s unconditional generosity. Let me explain.

Jesus said that our heavenly Father gives warmth,
light, and all the life-giving benefits of the sun to
this world’s inhabitants, good and bad alike (Mt. 5:45).
Imagine what would happen to our world if we went one
day without the sun. Even more generous, however, is
God’s immeasurable love in making forgiveness and
eternal life available through Jesus’ death on the cross
to atone for our sins.

What ingratitude I would have shown to the man who
gave me 40 cents if I had ignored him, or rejected his
offer! Yet that’s how we often treat God. And His
response? He keeps giving while holding open the offer
of forgiveness.

Let’s thank God daily for His generosity, and help
others know that God’s grace is what makes the world
work.
-Dennis J. De Haan

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again. -Flint

FOOLS TWIST GOD’S GRACE TO LIVE AS THEY PLEASE;
THE WISE TRUST GOD’S GRACE AND LIVE AS HE PLEASES.

OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1999 by Radio Bible Class,
Grand Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.