A portrait is defined as “a verbal picture or description, usually of a person.” Grace in the dictionary means “a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior.” For the child of God, our earthly life is full of these “pictures” reminding us of God’s goodness.
Most importantly would be the portrait of grace in salvation. Knowing we could do nothing to merit forgiveness for sin, Christ willingly gave His own life in exchange for ours so that we could escape eternal punishment and spiritual death. There is no greater love than the love our Heavenly Father has for His children and that is shown in the perfect portrait of Calvary.
After salvation, we often forget how much we need the Lord and how He desires fellowship with His child. When these times come, He sends reminders our way to humble us and teach us to look toward Him again. I was reminded of this just this past week in a situation with my brother, David. David is 28 years old and mentally disabled. My husband and I took over his care after the unexpected passing of my parents two years ago. David was very close to my mom and was unhappy anytime she wasn’t around. Since I have taken over the role as mother-figure, he is the same way with me now.
This particular day last week I had to run a quick errand. As always, David asked to ride with me and I said, “Just let me run by myself. I’ll be right back.” Those quick retreats are often the only quiet times I can get and sometimes I just like to sneak away and clear my mind. However, David insisted and I complied. Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.
I glared out the windshield, wishing for my alone time that never came. All of a sudden, David reached up and rubbed the back of my hand. I looked at him, with those big, brown eyes and that loving grin and realized he just wanted to be with me. He didn’t want to go anywhere. We didn’t even have to do anything fun. He just wanted to be where I was. Instantly the Lord pricked my heart. I thought, “How many times has the Lord looked my way and nudged my heart to spend time with Him for just a few minutes?” How many times have I chosen my own desires and been too busy to stop and look back His way?
1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom ye were called
unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Not only does He desire our fellowship, but we are also called to fellowship with Him. This fellowship is necessary to have unity with our Savior. We must make this a priority in the midst of the craziness of our day. Look forward to the times that He may summons you. Always be ready to sneak away and commune with Him for just a moment.
Time after time our Lord will use different situations to humble us. In the same way that we would display portraits of loved ones throughout our home, our hearts should contain portraits of His grace reminding us that we are so loved by Him. Let’s take time to venture through the hallway of our heart and remember the moments that those portraits represent.
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