Grace For All

"The Jews would not willingly tread upon the smallest piece of paper in their way, but took it up; for possibly, said they, the name of God may be upon it. Though there was little superstition in this, yet truly there is nothing but good religion in it, if we apply it to man. Trample not on any; there may be some work of grace there, that thou knowest not of. The name of God may be written upon that soul thou treadest on: it may be a soul that Christ thought so much of as to give His precious blood for it; therefore, despise it not."

-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Coleridge captures in this statement the very essence of God's view of the value of every human being. When we come into contact with another human being, as God's children, we are to take into account that God's sacrifice for us was a sacrifice for all men, for all humanity. He died so that we may be saved, and He lives so that might be free from the snare of the enemy. No man is exempt from God's grace and mercy should He seek it with a humble heart. We have all fallen short of the Kingdom of God, we are all sinners, yet we have a Savior, a loving Father who sent His only Son to die on the cross so that all may know Him. Thus, if He died for all, He values all. If He values all, since we are His children our time on earth is to be spent taking on the mind of Christ, being so overcome by His love so that we become more and more like Him. If this is all true, which according to His word it is, we are to exclude no one, to not bar, in our own prejudice, any one person from the Kingdom of God. We live in an imperfect world, one that is overcome by every sin and result of sin, thus its inhabitants are not perfect. As Christians, we can exclude no one on account of their sin, because we are sinners as well. God is the ultimate Judge, the only ruler in the case of man's heart, only He can determine the condition and situation of a man's soul. So we, God's people are simply here to be an extension of God's grace and love. To show the world the same love that God has showed us. He is the reason we are here, He is the reason we have hope and a future, He is the reason for it all, so our responsibility is to show that to all...the whole world, no exceptions.