I recently read a fortune cookie that said, “a real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.” That is the type of fortune that kicks you in the gut. We want the system to work for us but not hold us accountable of our own wrongs. This is one of the harder lessons as Christians that we must learn. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:12, he says, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Yet, how many of us are guilty of wanting forgiveness without freely offering it? How many of us expect to be let off the hook because we are otherwise law-abiding citizens in the kingdom of God? A true member of the household of God forgives, is forgiven, and rejoices when the call to grace works toward creating and keeping the peace. 

Photo by Charleston’s TheDigitel