“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

Several years ago, we had an extra bedroom that I used as a home office. One day, I came home and discovered someone had colored the walls and the office door with a red magic marker. The suspect that first came to my mind was my four-year-old son, Timothy, because little red handprints were on the wall and door.

I turned around to go up to Timothy’s room, and my six-year-old daughter, Abby, was standing there. Abby is the informer. If you have more than one child – one of them is the informer. Abby could not wait until I got home to tell on Timothy. She had both hands on her hips. She looked at me and said, “Dad, he’s in the bedroom.” She had this little smirk on her face as if she was saying, “Go beat him, Dad.”

Abby followed me up to Timothy’s room. I turned around and said, “Abby, you wait out here.” She was heartbroken.

When I walked into the room, Timothy’s back was to me. He was playing with some toys. I said, “Son.” He turned around. Red marker was on the bottom of his mouth. His hands were red. His shirt was red. His face was red.

I looked at that sweet little boy and said, “Son, did you mark on the wall and the door?” That little liar looked at me and said, “No, sir.” I asked him again, “Did you color the wall and the door with a marker?” He said, “No, sir.” I picked him up and took him in the bathroom and held him up to the mirror. You should’ve seen the look on his face when he realized he was caught.

Timothy was a sweet, innocent, precious little boy. He never murdered anybody. He was a pure little child, but he was covered in his sin.

You may not have murdered anyone, but you have harbored hate and bitterness. You may not have committed adultery, but you have lusted in your heart. You may not have uttered perjury, but you have lied. You may not have ever stolen anything, but you have coveted. All of us are sinners. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That means everybody.

Sin separates you from God. God is perfectly pure and holy. So, one little sin – one thing we would call tiny – one little sin is an offense to a holy God. One little sin and you cannot get into heaven. For that little sin, you will go to hell.

Have you ever heard the expression, “older than sin?” Sin has been around since Adam and Eve and will be with us as long as we live on this earth. But there is something older than sin – something that outlasts it. It is the marvelous grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s grace is greater than all our sin.

The point is: Grace is what God gives that we, as sinners, don’t deserve.

I received an email last week from the library. Apparently, I had a book that was overdue. Fortunately, I was still in the “grace” period and did not have to pay a fine.

We are currently living in the age of grace. God is withholding His judgment because He does not want anyone to perish. Soon the grace period will be over, and it will be time to “pay the fine” for sin.

Have you received His grace? Have you asked Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and be your Savior? Don’t wait. No one know when the grace period will end.

James Collins is a pastor at First Southern Baptist Church. He can be reached through the website www.thepointis.net or by email at [email protected].