Extravagant Grace is a book written by Barbara Duguid. She uses John Newton’s teaching on sanctification to explain God’s sovereignty over sin. Duguid is the wife of a Presbyterian pastor in Pennsylvania and the mother of six. The quotes in this series come from her book.
“I had not yet learned that you don’t have to be abused to be messed up; you just have to be a human!”
In our finite human minds, it’s easy to understand why someone with a rough background, an abusive past, or a survivor of some tragedy would turn out to be “bad”. What we often don’t understand is that we are all “bad”, all sinners. Some may show it more outwardly than others, but it’s in all of us. That expression, “there but for the grace of God go I” is one I have to bring to mind often.
For whatever reason, only He knows, God has put a protective hand on me. I was never abused. Sure, I’ve experienced death, car accidents, loss of jobs and income; all the things most of us will experience in our lifetime.To say we are all human is an understatement. We’ve read stories of those who have suffered tremendously, yet survived and overcame and thrived. Then, there are those with the proverbial “silver spoon” who have wrecked their own lives.
The bottom line is that we are all sinners, all capable of just about anything. What I have learned from pondering these things is that I should not get smug in any goodness I think I have. God has allowed me to have a life that by many standards is very blessed, very comfortable. No, not a rich life monetarily, but, then again, comparatively it may be. Not a happy-go-lucky life. But, a life of growing knowledge of Him. And that is only by His grace.
Not In This Soup Alone 
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