by Steve Brown
I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.
Matthew 12:7

Do not let anyone take away from you the reality that, because of Jesus Christ, “It is finished.”
Justin Holcomb is a friend and former student of mine. He got his PhD from Emory University; he’s a brilliant young man. Justin is an ordained Anglican minister and now works for my ministry, Key Life Network. Most importantly, he loves Jesus with all his heart, and he’s even written a really wonderful book called On the Grace of God. He gets this grace stuff really well. One time I asked him, “Justin, how did you start knowing about grace?”
“My father taught me,” he said. “I was just a little kid, maybe seven. Our neighbors were going to move, and I didn’t want them to. So I snuck into their house and stopped up all their drains and turned on the water and flooded the house.”
I said, “At seven?”
“Oh yeah. It did thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. And when I realized what I’d done, I was so ashamed. But I lied. I said, ‘How could anybody do something like that, Dad?’ And my dad said, ‘I don’t know how somebody could be that destructive.’
“For a whole week all I did was pray. I prayed that God wouldn’t let me be caught. And I asked for forgiveness over and over and over again. One afternoon about a week later, my dad said, ‘Son, did you have anything to do with the flooding of our neighbor’s house?’”
When Justin lied through his teeth, his father said, “Son, the neighbor told me he saw you go in and do it.” Justin began to weep, and his father went on. “I’m not just angry about what you did. I’m angry because you lied to me. You need to get straight with God and you need to get straight with me, and you’re going to have everything you like removed until Jesus returns.”
Justin said, “Daddy, every night I’ve asked God to forgive me.”
“You asked God to forgive you?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. That’s different. Well, you’re forgiven. Go on out and play.”
Justin said the first time he ever talked about Jesus to his friends was when he told them what had happened.

Thought to Remember for Today

The only people who are able to extend forgiveness to sinners are those who have drunk deeply of the forgiveness that has been extended to them. Today, as you consider how Justin’s father handled his sin, ask the Lord to help you believe you are forgiven and know you are free to “go out and play.”

Fitzpatrick, E. (2016). Grace untamed: a 60-day devotional. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.