Grace Revisited

December 17, 2008

In high school, my 12th grade English teacher taught “Hamlet.” She said, “You will read this play now and react to it. When you are older, you will read it again and have a different reaction because of your life experiences.” She was right.

It is the same with Scripture. The other night while reading the selection from the One-Year Bible, I came across a passage I have read many times, but this time it jumped out to me with new power. It was Joshua 2:8. In the NIV it says, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

Isn’t that tremendous? Think of that as you contemplate your own worthless idols. Perhaps they are not false images as in ancient Israel. Maybe they are material things, or politics or one of many addictions. Listen again: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

That’s a verse worth memorizing and hiding in all our hearts, especially when so many worthless idols are clamoring for our attention.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.