A 2nd Job Part II of II

For Part I Click Here

Interestingly, people still come up to me and give me their condolences regarding my mom. They also tell stories about how wonderful she was for the community. She was an icon in East Los Angeles. Yes, I miss her very much. My sister has a picture of her in the office. The first couple of weeks it was difficult to see the picture because it was a reminder that she’s no longer here. But it’s also a reminder that her kids are keeping up the family business and are working together to do they best they can without her. I think she would be proud.

An unexpected opportunity to share the gospel has also come from going back to the store. I still have friends in the old neighborhood that come by. It’s been great to be able to share the gospel the way my mom did her last few years. Speaking of the gospel, isn’t it at the heart of the gospel to love the unlovable? Isn’t that what the Lord did with us, . . . though we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The apostle Paul says, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise” (Romans 1:14 – NKJV). To be in debt means to owe someone something (e.g., mortgage, student loans, etc.), usually to a creditor. The Lord gave Paul grace so why, in this passage, would he call himself a “debtor” to Greeks and Barbarians? A clue in answering this question is in the first verse of chapter one where it says, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God” (1:1 – NIV – emphasis added). Paul didn’t call himself nor did he set apart himself. It was God doing the work in Paul’s heart. Paul didn’t qualify for the grace of God nor did he do anything to be disqualified from the grace of God, “it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

The beauty of receiving God’s grace is not that we owe God anything but that it wipes out what we did owe by virtue of our sins. So then, the “debt” we now owe is to offer this amazing grace to other unqualified people, to the Greeks and Barbarians and selfish customers of our day. Understanding this grace we have received will show in how we greet and interact with people. If we understand grace we won’t cut our eyes towards people for their differences or selfishness, feeling like we “qualified” for God’s grace while they didn’t.

Now, putting hands and feet to this wonderful concept of receiving God’s grace while working at a 7-11 store in the middle of East Los Angeles means I will show patience and compassion for everyone, knowing that I didn’t qualify for the grace of God. No matter how moronically a customer behaves, I need to extend grace because I am a “debtor” to them. It’s not because they gave me anything but because “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”