Sunday Rewind 7.25.10

Our Road Trip through Exodus brings us to a pretty ugly story (Exodus 16:1-15).

We’re about a month into the journey. So far, God has miraculously released His people from bondage in Egypt, given them the riches of Egypt, guided them through the desert, and delivered from the pursuing army. But that was yesterday. Now, they’re a community of grumbling, ungrateful, selfish people whose faith only goes as far as what God has done for them lately.

It’s a story that points us to an amazing truth: God is gracious, even when His people aren’t.

The manna and quail are God’s gracious response to an ungrateful and even rebellious people. But before we shake our finger at the Israelites, let’s take a look at ourselves. The hard truth is that God’s people can incredibly ungracious.

Like Israel, we grumble about almost anything that isn’t exactly what we want. Like Israel, we take our frustration with God out on each other. Like Israel, we quickly forget about God’s provision. God’s people can be incredibly ungracious…with each other…with pre-Christians…with God himself. But we don’t have to be that way.

Instead of grumbling, we can choose to invest the resources God has given us. Instead of lashing out at each other, we can be real with God. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, we can choose to remember what God has done.

Remember… God has not given us what we deserve and has given us what we don’t deserve. He has set us free from bondage to sin and death and set us on a road trip towards holiness and life. God is still on His throne. The Bible is still true. Heaven is still our home. Now, what is it I was complaining about?

Because God is gracious with us, we can choose to be gracious, even when others aren’t.