Chocolate Covered Grace

Picture this precious scene from five years ago; toddler-sized Bridger and Landon were sitting at the counter enjoying a warm, gooey treat. Each face was plastered with a big smile and a smear of chocolate.

When they were almost done, Landon looked at Bridger and said, very matter-of factly, “I have a messy face.”

Bridger asked, “How do you know?”

Landon’s answer?  

“Because you have a messy face.”

It was adorable.  It was also profound.

It is easy to see the mess on someone else’s face because, well…we can see them. But unless we are willing to look in a mirror, we remain blissfully oblivious to our own messy face. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus has a harsh word for people who point fingers at others while ignoring their own mess.  The word is Hypocrite! (Matthew 7:3-5).

But what if, like Landon, we used the messes of others as a kind of mirror? We could apply what we see, not as a springboard for being judgmental or critical, but as a reminder that our face is messy too.  Because it is. The mess might look different, but no matter what the situation, it is always true to say:

They have a mess and so do I.

They are a sinner and so am I.

They need the grace of Jesus and so do I.

That night my boys were two messy-faced sinners, but there was no finger pointing. There was only the acknowledgment that they both had messy faces and that they both needed to wash up. What a lovely picture of grace. In this case, chocolate covered grace.

Click here for the recipe of the chocolate goodness they were enjoying.