That's Outrageous

There I stood with my arm around this feeble elderly woman with glasses.

And I prayed. Paying no attention to the fact I was at work, on the clock, I quietly asked God to bless her. Who is her? My new friend Faye. Some of you may be thinking, "That's outrageous," but is it?

Faye stumbled into the jewelry store, with a cane, a tangible symbol her life had changed forever. I was instantly drawn to her. In her late 70s . . . and one glance at her revealed she had been put through the ringer.

"This is the first day I've been out since my stroke," she candidly shared with me. "I'm embarrassed to be out looking like this."

My heart broke for her. Embarrassed? No. Courageous? That she was, and IS-- more courage in her pinky finger than most of us possess in our entire bodies.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about I assured her." What I should've said was that she's just as beautiful as ever, as His precious and beloved daughter, and that her inward beauty (1st Peter 3:3-4) far overshadowed any way her outward appearance may have been affected by her stroke. I'm sorry I didn't . . . I've since prayed that God would reveal that to her.

I was instantly touched. She wasn't letting the fact she can't quite get around as well as she once could hold her back. I told her how blessed she was that she wasn't fully paralyzed, suffering partial paralysis and did not have any speech impediments or anything of the like. She agreed.

That's where the exciting 15-minute adventure started.

"I am a believer," she proudly said. "And I know it's a miracle! I thank the good Lord every day for that. He has been so good to me."

"I can still walk. I can still talk. I can still do for my husband of 40 years."

Even the hardest of hearts would have been whittled away by her sincerity and words of gratitude. I teared up. I prayed for her for a couple of minutes off to the side of the sales floor as to not draw attention to us, but not hiding our display of faith either.

God was blessed, she was blessed and I . . . I might've felt the most blessed of all. No matter how you slice it, or dice it, my encounter with Faye was truly a treat. Moments where obedience make our Heavenly Father smile, cause someone else to smile and bring a smile to our own faces, I call tri-fold blessings! Often times we are robbed of these special moments for fear of what someone else may think. What will my boss think? What will other customers think? We rationalize-- maybe this isn't the time or the place. If it's laid on your heart-- it's ALWAYS the time and the place!

What's REALLY Outrageous!

We are called, as followers of Jesus Christ, to share His Love . . . so no acts of altruism are outrageous. . . but necessary. Many are bold. Many are inspiring. Many are admirable, but outrageous 99.9% are not. But I will tell you what it is!

The fact God would send His only Son Jesus to die for me knowing all the MANY times, and many ways, I would fail Him during my lifetime. How radical, how amazing, how OUTRAGEOUS is His love for us!?!  Any acts we perform, or rather He performs through us, are simple . . . they are small compared to what He endured for us and lengths He went to to bring us back home.

You see we scoff at how on Earth Peter could deny Him three times when we deny Him FAR more than that each and every day! He saw me addicted to porn, frequenting strip clubs, hopping into bed with women, all the naughty pictures and texts, pursuing all kinds of hedonism and perversion. He saw all the times I wouldn't honor Him and the times I would treat myself with no worth and He died for me ANYWAY! He did it anyway! I don't know about you, but I've used grace as a license to sin more than the reason to be more obedient.

That's why it's easy for me to sing songs of worship, pour out my praise and really belt out lyrics like, "Amazing Love how could it be that You my King would die for me/Amazing Love I know it's true/ It's my joy to honor You and when I belt words out like those, I do so from my soul, deep within my spirit not just from my heart or mind.

How Great Thou Art is more than just a hymn, because you pause and really think about His greatness . . . it is mind-blowing, heart-changing, you are instantly compelled to want to give Him something back! You aren't required to for Him to love you, but I know it is more appreciated than we could ever come to realize.

Jesus found you in the mud and the muck, in the backseat of that car, in that hotel room, in that stranger's bed, in the bed of that spouse (but not your spouse) and He died for you anyway! He pursued you and He loved you too much to leave you there!

God loved us too much to allow us to remain separated from His great love, so He pursued us and gave us a way back to His loving arms through Jesus. Amazing? Hardly . . . that word is terribly insufficient! The fact He STILL loves me . . . the fact He would still views me as His son . . . the fact He delights in my audience . . . the fact He would want ANYTHING to do with me, much less DIE FOR ME~ that's INCONCEIVABLE to my rational mind. Good thing God is so terribly IRRATIONAL!

You may say, "I don't deserve it." You're right-- I don't either, but it's not about our worth rather about the One who is worthy and gives us our worth. It was not bought cheaply, but it comes at no expense, completely free, to us! Receiving something so freely given that NONE of us deserve is GRACE.

And GRACE~ well, that's OUTRAGEOUS!!!