A Little Spiritual CPR

My mind has been juggling all the things on my to-do list this week.

Taxing things related to April 15. Medical things related to annual appointments for mammograms, migraines, and Scout camps. Planning the logistics for our upcoming ladies retreat for which I am in charge of the tech/media stuff. Bible Study - Revelation this week! Chaperoning UIL contests. And on and on and on.

One thing not on my list is breathing. But maybe it should be. Because a book I finally read this week (after having it for months!) reminded me of the importance of this.

Not breathing oxygen (although I don't recommend the cessation of that anytime soon!), but the breathing of grace.

Harry Kraus, MD, a missionary physician in Africa, has penned some great words in his book Breathing Grace: What You Need More Than Your Next Breath. And he did relate it to our physical respiratory system. Just as we don't say "Well, oxygen brought me to life at birth but I can get along without it now," grace is something we need daily. In his introduction he says,

So why is spiritual famine an epidemic both inside and outside the church? Because although we've come to Christ by recognizing grace, few of us have carried it along as essential equipment on the Christian path. We give mental assent to the truth of the gospel message, but we live our lives in famine, as if we could earn God's favor. We are God's children, but our souls are dry.

From lack of "oxygen" (grace) to spiritual emphysema, anemia, and resuscitation, he shows how we cannot afford to go through our days without life-sustaining grace, both breathing it in and breathing it out.

Yep, he stepped on my toes a few times. Good books with truth in their pages tend to do that!

BTW, you don't need a medical background to read and apply this book. Any medical illustrations are thoroughly explained. (And they will give you a renewed appreciation for the wondrous intricacies of the human body which God created.)

Grace. I can't live without it, and yet some days I completely ignore it. And still He offers it!

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter 3:18

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