Out of the Overflow

I had a Pastor that would always say that we should minister to others out of the overflow of our own hearts.

It's true, Romans 5:5 says "...God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

If God has poured out his love in my heart, there should be enough love to share with others, don't you think?

And guess what else He has given us (me)?

In Ephesians 1 "...in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

So if He lavished grace on me, there should be plenty of that to pass around too, right?

In my last blog, I discussed the meaning of grace. God's grace is Him giving us good things we don't deserve. So what does that mean if we are to minister out of the abundance of our heart? Well, to me it means that if God has lavished his glorious grace on me, then I should lavish it on others. So if God is constantly (and gloriously) treating me like I don't deserve, then, I should be treating others around me like they don't deserve! (and I'm saying that in a good way)

What did I just say?

Well, God gives me situations every day to "practice" giving grace . As a matter of fact, anyone that has to drive on the roads with other drivers, never lack opportunites to practice ministering grace to others! But this is about me, not you, even if the shoes fits! :)

So if you are a fellow driver, you understand where I am coming from and where I am going. If you are in a long line of bumper to bumper traffic and you are in the lane that you have to be in in order to make the turn you have to make (several blocks ahead), you probably have experienced a similar attitude that I have had with cars going past you and "cutting in" farther up the line. Well, guess what? I "used to be" one of those people. No way was I going to get into the back of that line, when I knew I could easily "slip in" much closer to the beginning. Except that it wasn't always that easy to slip in. Then I had two options, I would have to stop and block traffic in the lane I was in and make more cars angry (for MY convenience) until someone let me in OR I would have to keep going and take a different route (which was usually my choice)

As I have been studying about grace and God giving me good things I didn't deserve, I started to get convicted about my driving attitude. I began to see that I was considering myself better that all the rest of those people waiting in line, and God didn't like that.

So now I have been getting in that long line and "gracefully" watching other drivers "cut in" (just like I USED to). Okay so it takes me 5 + - minutes longer, so I just have to learn to leave home earlier!

For a long time I have given a measure of grace to drivers on the road, and it has given me a great deal of peace without the stress and aggravation of constantly being upset for their bad driving habits. It is easier for me to accept the fact that they are there, look out for them, give them the space they need, and be at peace with myself (and my passengers), but there was this one area, that I was holding on to, that God is now delivering me from (and I say "is delievering) and not "has delivered" since it is a process... may it increase!