...But for the Grace of God

A famous long-dead preacher once said to a friend about a drunk man lying in the gutter: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” In my imaginative ear, I hear the drunk, after lifting his head to stare into the long-dead preacher’s face: “And there, sir, but for the grace of God, go I.” Then and still perhaps only in speculation, I hear him say, “And here, by the grace of God, am I,” as his face falls back into his own vomit. How do we know that, whatever our position in life, that it isn’t exactly where God wants us to be? Food for thought is this. 8/25/12