Grace and Mercy

(Man up... own it...face the music....pick your phrase but just do it)

Grace and Mercy

Accepting the blame for a poor strategy or a leadership failure seems to be a lost art.  Too often a CEO will reorganize the senior team rather than own his/her shortcomings.  Too often the GM of a sports enterprise will fire the coach rather than admit he signed the wrong players.  And how often does each of us blame the other person for the breakdown of a personal relationship?

Just about a week ago we saw the 70^th anniversary of D-Day commemorated across Europe and the United States.  The bravery and determination of the men who landed on those beaches is unfathomable and the gratitude we feel for their service and sacrifice should know no bounds.  Dwight Eisenhower was the general in charge of the planning and execution of that mission. His career never included actual battlefield action, but he was a gifted strategist and a tremendous leader.  To that end, he prepared a letter to his superiors for distribution in the event that the invasion failed.  It concluded like this:  “If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone." 

“For I know my transgressions, 
and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words” Psalm 51:3-4

Mercy can be defined as not receiving the punishment you deserve; grace as receiving the blessing you do not deserve.  God gives these gifts freely…but we can only receive them when we are willing to admit our fault or guilt in a situation!  When we blame others or refuse to even admit that failure is happening all around us we deny ourselves the beautiful reconciliation God has planned.

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Volume 7, Number 43

Casting your cares

(fun stuff is often also not safe!)

Casting your cares

Our daughter Abby is at camp this week.  It’s a good Christian camp with good safety policies.  The camp is right across the street from a 24-hour emergency room and only 8.5 miles from our house. In theory everything should be copacetic.  In reality we still worry.  After all…like I said, our daughter Abby is at camp!  Many of the things that make camp fun also make it dangerous. And when your own child is the one participating it’s difficult to stay worry-free despite all the research you may have done in advance.

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”  Psalm 55:22

One of the interesting subtleties in scripture is that it seldom, if ever, says we will live a stress-free, worry-free life.  Rather it guides us to a realization that we have a way to move beyond the stress and worry; that we have an advocate of the first order who can give us the hope and confidence we need to push through.  The cares really do have to exist before we can cast them on the Lord.  

The challenge is to remember God’s promise each time a situation comes around. We spend far too much time ruminating on the issue and considering the worst thing that could happen.  We spend far too little time remembering how blessed we felt when God carried us through our previous troubles.

Let’s do our best to flip that around.  Let’s not be shaken!

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Volume 7,  Number 42