Just a Sinner Saved By Grace

Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. – 1 Samuel 18:4.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. – Acts 11:25.

Franklin Roosevelt once praised Robert E. Lee as one of America’s greatest Christians and gentlemen. Lee, however, described himself differently, seeing himself as “nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.” That humility accounts for Roosevelt’s evaluation.

Percy Johnston, a San Diego investment banker, attended Oxford University. He and two friends were lawn bowling there one day when a distinguished elderly gentleman came by and stood watching them. Percy went over and asked if the gentleman would make a fourth. He agreed and extended an introductory hand. “Albert Einstein,” he said. “Relativity?” Johnston asked. Einstein smiled and nodded. That began a lasting friendship. Percy later said Dr. Einstein’s humility had deeply impressed him. During a conversation at an afternoon tea, Einstein was explaining an experiment, and volunteered that he had “so much to learn.”

God looks for servants whose sense of their humanity engenders humility, even as their awareness of his grace develops confidence—women like Hannah and Mary; men like Moses and Paul.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.