A 1983 edition of Moody Monthly tells the story of a misunderstanding between ministers Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker–both of whom had churches in London in the 19^th century:

On one occasion, Parker commented on the poor condition of children admitted to Spurgeon's orphanage. It was reported to Spurgeon, however, that Parker had criticized the orphanage itself. Spurgeon blasted Parker the next week from the pulpit. The attack was printed in the newspapers and became the talk of the town. People flocked to Parker's church the next Sunday to hear his rebuttal. "I understand Dr. Spurgeon is not in his pulpit today, and this is the Sunday they use to take an offering for the orphanage. I suggest we take a love offering here instead." The crowd was delighted. The ushers had to empty the collection plates three times. Later that week there was a knock at Parker's study. It was Spurgeon. "You know Parker, you have practiced grace on me. You have given me not what I deserved; you have given me what I needed."

In His matchless grace, God also gives His children what they need instead of what they deserve. We know grace is sufficient for salvation. We know we can’t save ourselves.

But did you know that you can’t live yourself either? You’re not sufficient within yourself to meet the common, ordinary problems, heartaches, burdens, decisions, situations, and circumstances that make up your environment. You are as weak now as you were when you came to know Jesus as your Savior; you need just as much grace to live as you needed to be saved.

Paul knew this need for grace within himself. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, we learn of a thorn in the flesh that God allowed Satan to give Paul. This thorn, sharp like a stake, was so painful that he asked God three times to remove it. Yet, he did not ask out of pain incurred himself; he asked out of his painful longing to be all that he could be in God, to serve God to his fullest.

And how did God answer? He allowed the thorn to remain so that Paul would be a humble man.

What Paul realized as a result of God’s response was:

God was answering his prayer. Paul wanted to serve God in the absolute fullest capacity that he could. For this reason, God allowed a thorn in his life so that he would always realize his dependency on Him.

God was revealing more of himself to Paul. Why does Paul have such great insight into the heart and mind of God? Because God used the pain and pruning in Paul’s life (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) to give Paul a pure understanding of Himself.

God’s grace was plentiful. No matter what the need, the circumstance, the trouble Paul faced, God always met him where he was and provided him not "just enough" grace but "more than enough" grace to live. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

God’s grace was personal. God expressed His grace differently to Paul all the time. Why? Because Paul’s needs varied throughout his lifetime, and God personalized His provision of grace to suit Paul’s particular needs.

So what can we learn from Paul’s realizations about grace? The better we truly understand God’s grace, the more we will recognize our desperate need for it. We will grow in our dependency upon God for all things.

October 2000 - By Brooke Redwine - Staff writer