Real Time: A 40-Minute Lesson

Let’s get real. There will be many times in life when we are inconvenienced. For me, it is often waiting in line for a slow shopper to finish their purchase or to find their wallet, a student to finish up an exam that they never studied for, or, specifically today, a personal shopper who lost part of my online order. Now granted, I could have given all of the excuses that were running through my mind to justify “chewing out the attendant”, like “I’ve been working all morning”, “They sent me an early pickup notification”, or “For as much as they charge I should not have to wait this long”. I am not exaggerating when I say that after forty minutes I was ready to “let them have a piece of my mind”. 

But isn’t it like our Heavenly Father in those moments of impatience to remind us of the bigger picture. A humble and jovial apology from the attendant instantly transported me to the passage in Matthew 7:12, which states “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

Honestly, how many times have I failed to meet someone’s expectations? How many times have I disappointed a friend or relative? “How many times have I sinned against God?” In those moments what I needed most was grace.

Lesson #1  I am above all things a representative of Jesus Christ. I am His ambassador, and how I treat others will reflect on His name. If I am the only Bible that they will read, then would my testimony make them desire a relationship with Christ, or would my hypocrisy create another proof as to why they are just fine without Him?

Lesson #2 I have been given the greatest gift of grace that has ever been bestowed to mankind- salvation and forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. I have no idea what those around me are going through, or how close they are to becoming His child. It is the compassion of Jesus Christ granted to me that I must emulate to others. So the next time I am tempted to “let someone have it” or “tell them off”, I hope that the Holy Spirit will remind me of my 40-minute lesson on grace.

Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”