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Grace is sometimes the aspect of God that angers me. Do not get me wrong, I do not become angry at God for His grace, but I do get angry in spite of God's grace. I am rather confounded by grace sometimes. There are certain people, or events that I wonder how a loving God could become gracious toward.

Hitler, for example, was responsible for perpetrating one, if not the most violent attacks on people in the history of civilization. How could God be gracious to allow that to occur- unless it was a judgment, but even that seems brutally severe. Milosovic, Stalin, Jones, Koresh, myself... how could God be so gracious to give even the most common man time and opportunity to turn from sin and be forgiven? That's the thing about grace that is haunting. In human ideology it is incomprehensible, undeserving, unrewarded, and yet acceptable.

Though some questions remain unanswered remain unanswered in my mind, I do know that the more grace God has given me has resulted in me learning to be more gracious to others- but I have far to go.

After the shooting in Connecticut happened my eight year old and I were driving and she asked me the question I had been preparing or God, I should say was preparing me to answer. She asked, "mom, why did God let that happen?" As God led me by the Holy Spirit this is what I believe.

I said to her well you know how you don't like it when people try to control you? Don't you want to be able to make desicions on your own? God loves us so much that he allows us to be free to make choices for ourselves. He wants us to be free to love Him and not do it because He made us. He gives us a concience to help us make right decisions but with giving us the freedom to do good things we also have the freedom to do bad things. Some people who don't have God in their life make very bad choices like the guy did in the shooting. I told her God hurts too right now even more than we do but he gives us all a choice to make, follow Him or not. He doesn't want us to be robots. I went further and told her that is why it's so important for us to stay in God's word so He can help teach us how to make the right choices. And when you grow up, to teach your children and others His word and so on and so on.

What I love most is that His word says even though we sin, some sins more severe then others, God forgives us if we ask. That is His grace and I agree sometimes it humanly doesn't make sense. And if I look at things my way then I'm in trouble, I get confused, (confusion is not of the Spirit) but when I walk and live by the Spirit I can understand it better. Though I will never completely understand the measure of His grace.

That is just my simple minded take on things.

Thanks again for sharing.