| God's Grace is as Big as a Twenty-Dollar Bill - article by Joel Hempel
Back in the inner city of Cincinnati, when I taught an adult instruction class to new Christians who wanted to be a part of Prince of Peace Church, I used the following visual illustration to teach about God’s grace. At the appropriate moment, I would reach into my wallet, take out five-dollar bills, and hand one to each participant. But one time, I didn’t have $5. I only had a twenty-dollar bill. I hesitated. But because it was a crucial moment in the teaching, and since I had only one adult student in the class, I proceeded: This $20 is like God’s grace. Here, it’s yours! The person was reluctant to take it. I’m serious. I want you to have it. It is mine to give to you, and it will give me great joy for you to receive it. The woman took the $20, then a nanosecond later, insisted I take it back: No, I can’t! This is too much. Seriously, it’s not mine anymore. It belongs to you, I reiterated. We then opened our Bibles: By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 I then went on to talk about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and how this act of immeasurable love resulted in our forgiveness and life forever with him in heaven. When class was over, and the woman was leaving: Are you sure about the twenty dollars? She inquired one more time. Yes. It’s yours with God’s love. End of story? No! A week later, I received a package in the mail. Giftwrapped was a $20 bill, framed with the embedded message: This twenty-dollar bill taught me about God’s love, trust, and grace. Thank you. Hmm! I loved the gift, and I love the person who gave it to me. But it was another visual illustration. This time, it was about how difficult it is for us to fully accept God’s undeserved grace. Does God mean it when he says: You are forgiven; you are loved – as you are; you are mine – forever? YES! The Good Friday crucifixion, followed by Easter and the resurrection of Jesus, is our assurance that God’s mercy and grace are ours. The grace of God is as real and concrete as Jesus stepping into our lives and handing us a 20-dollar bill. Here, I want you to have this. It may seem like only a 20-dollar bill, but it represents everything my Father wants to give you. It’s yours. Please believe me: You are forgiven. You are loved. You are mine – forever! My guess is that we would frame that $20 bill, but we would not try to give it back. It would hang forever on our wall as a reminder: Jesus gave me this and all his love! | 
