Don’t Forget the Bread

He now knows me, too. He looked at my driver's license. "Why is your name familiar to me? Aren't you a minister here in San Antonio?"

"Yes, sir."

"On your way to a funeral?"

"No."

"An emergency?"

"No."

"You were going awfully fast."

"I know."

"Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you a second chance."

I sighed. "Thank you—and thanks for giving me a sermon illustration on pardon."

God has posted His traffic signs everywhere we look: in the universe, in Scripture, even within our own hearts. Yet we persist in disregarding his directions. Still, God does not give us what we deserve. He has drenched His world in grace. It has no end. It knows no limits. It empowers this life and enables us to live the next. God offers second chances, like a soup kitchen offers meals to everyone who asks.

That includes you. Make sure you receive the bread.

Once you do, pass it on. After all, if we don't, who will? Governments don't feed the soul. The secular relief house can give a bed, meal and valuable counsel; but believers can give much more—not just help for this life but hope for the next.

"Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live" (Acts 2:38-39).

So along with the cups of water, plates of food and vials of medicine, let there be the message of sins forgiven and death defeated.

Remember the Bread.

Adapted from Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference by Max Lucado. Published by Thomas Nelson. Copyright © 2010 Max Lucado. Used by permission.