He Giveth More Grace

© Copyright 2013 PJ Stassen

All Rights Reserved

Any man can kill; only a king can give life.

-          El Cid, legendary Spanish conquerer.

   Can there, in this Universe, ever be a more beautiful word than the word FORGIVENESS?  Can there be a more agreeable idea than a second chance?  So valuable, so indispensable is the concept and principal of forgiveness that Jesus saw it fit to enshrine it in the model prayer forever (“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us …”).  Jesus reiterates:

     Mark 11:25  And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive it so    that also your Father in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

     Mark 11:26  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses. (MKJV, eSword).

   Furthermore, if He who had demanded that we forgive our brother seventy times seven per day (i.e. 490 times per day, if we must be pedantic about it) how much more will He, who had given the injunction in the first place, then live the example and, when the need arises, forgive us seventy times seven Himself?  Due to our human frailty and our natural proclivity to sin, mistakes, faults and flops (not to speak of our many embarrassing moral and social indiscretions) we sometimes may become despondent and tempted to give up; or we may think that we somehow must have exhausted our moral credits or brownie points with the Father.  This is exactly when one, like the prodigal son, should go back to God instead and plead for mercy and grace, for the unmerited favour of the Father … who knows, there may still be a second (or another) chance!  As the song says: “Don’t give up, you may be on the brink of a miracle.” 

   In contrast to what so many people think, unconditional forgiveness does not, however, necessarily imply that someone can defraud and hurt us time and time again and think he can, by simply invoking the magical escape-clause of ‘Forgiveness^490’ every time, get away with it without any consequences at all; that would certainly classify as moral blackmail in my book.  Forgiveness means no retribution, no reprisal, no vengeance, no revenge; it does not mean that one has to be fooled, used and abused by career con-artists and skilled manipulators, including that unrepentant toddler (an expert in the art of tantrum-management*) indefinitely.  It thus stands to reason that we must also refrain from (trying to) ‘manipulate’ God** because of ulterior motives.

Notes.

*When someone in the lecture-room once asked the group what a tantrum was, a colleague explained:  

       “It is a very intimidating behaviour-phenomenon exhibited in supermarkets by small  

        children, either before or just after the cash register.”  

**God cannot really be manipulated.

Nevertheless, Christians were not called to be naive.  Jesus says:

Matthew 10:16  Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.  (MKJV, eSword).

     

   The song, He Giveth More Grace, so beautifully sung by Larry Ford, was heard for the first time by me only about ten years ago, during a most debilitating personal business-failure, and exactly when I needed it most:

YouTube

He Giveth More Grace

(Words:  Annie Johnson Flint/Music:  Hubert Mitchell

Copyright 1941.  Renewal 1969 by Lillenas Publishing Company)

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.

To added affliction He addeth His mercy;

To multiplied trials, He multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

CHORUS:  His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,

His pow’r has no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

(G.R.A.C.E.:  God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense)

MY PRAYER:  May the Lord of Heaven and Earth grant the reader and whosoever will come to Him the unmerited grace and friendship of a loving and forgiving Heavenly Father.  May He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

Piet Stassen

eLiterature/eLiteratuur:

1. Scribd Publishing Site:  www.scribd.com/PietStassen (ENGLISH & AFRIKAANS)
2. eBook: 'Evolution: The Science That Evolved Into A Fairy Tale' (ENGLISH)  
3. eBook:  'Bertrand Russell Revisited: Rebuttal Of Bertrand Russell's 'Why I Am Not A Christian''(ENGLISH)
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5. eBook: 'Conservation, Rhino Poaching And Hypocrisy' (ENGLISH)
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7. eBook: 'Names And Titles Of Jesus Of Nazareth (ENGLISH)'
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9. eBoek:  'Bevryding Van Die Anti-Evangelie Van Ateisme-Evolusionisme' [AFRIKAANS].
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Bibliography

1.  CyberHymnal. 'Annie Johnson Flint'. Accessed At <http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/f/l/flint_aj.htm> [online] 2013.
2.  HomecomingMagazine. Accessed At <http://www.homecomingmagazine.com/article/he-giveth-more-grace/> [online] 2013.
3.  Hymnary. 'Hubert Mitchell.  Accessed At <http://www.hymnary.org/tune/he_giveth_more_grace_mitchell> [online] 2013.
4.  MusicNotes.  'Hubert Mitchell'. Accessed At <http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?> [online] 2013.ppn=MN0099026&ref=googleMusic Notes.  
5.  Peterson, John V. (1971) Favourites Number Seven. ‘He Giveth More Grace’. Singspiration^®. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids, Michigan.