Grace

Grace A Very Beautiful Hand
John Wesley and a preacher of his acquaintance were once invited to lunch with a gentleman after the service. Wesley's preacher friend was a man of very blunt speech. This well-meaning man, while talking with their host's beautiful daughter, who had been profoundly impressed by Wesley's preaching, noticed that she wore a number of rings. During a pause in the meal he took hold of the young lady's hand and raising it, called Wesley's attention to the sparkling gems. "What do you think of this, sir," he asked, "for a Methodist hand?" The girl turned crimson. The question was extremely awkward for Wesley whose aversion to all display of jewelry was well known. With a quiet, benevolent smile he looked up and simply said, "The hand is very beautiful." He had not denied the implied rebuke but had taken the sting out of it. The young lady appeared at evening worship without her jewels and became a firm and dedicated Christian. A Gracious Reproof
John Wesley once had for a fellow-passenger in a coach an officer who was intelligent and agreeable in conversation; but there was one serious drawback-his profanity. When they changed vehicles, Wesley took the officer aside, and after expressing the pleasure he had enjoyed in his company, said he had a great favor to ask him. The young officer replied, "I will take great pleasure in obliging you for I am sure you will not make an unreasonable request." "Then," said Wesley, "as we have to travel together some distance I beg that, if I should so forget myself and swear, you will kindly reprove me." The officer immediately saw the motive, felt the force of the request and smiling said, "None but Mr. Wesley could have conceived a reproof in such a manner." It worked like a charm.

Grace in Temptation
A Korean Christian showed that he had grasped the meaning of the injury caused by anger when he got up in prayer meeting and said, "I heard the missionary say that every burst of anger pierced the heart of Jesus. So I hung a picture of the Lord Jesus on my wall, and every time I lost my temper, I put a thorn on that picture. The picture was soon covered with thorns. A great love welled up in me that He should suffer because of my temper; now He gives me grace in temptation. I say, 'Not I, but Christ within me,' and His sweetness comes instead of my bad temper."

Honesty-Not Pride
A United States President asked a certain general a question about another officer. Overhearing his reply which praised the officer, a friend approached him afterwards and said, "General, do you know that the man of whom you spoke is one of your most bitter enemies and misses no opportunity to malign you?" "Yes," replied the officer, "but the President asked my opinion of him; he did not ask for his opinion of me." The Imperfect Saints
We should be lenient in our judgment of those who accomplish so much in the vineyard of God. They are men of like infirmities and weaknesses as ourselves. Let us remember they are not perfect. Are we then to reject their message because of their imperfections? No. In a pipe which conveys water into a house, there may be a flaw that will sometimes permit rust or earth to mix with the water. Shall we, therefore, reject the water itself, and say, if we may not have it just as it comes out of the fountain or source, we will not have it at all? What if we live far from the fountain itself and can have no water but what is conveyed in pipes subject to such defects?

Love Catches a Thief
A Quaker had a bundle of hides stolen from his warehouse. He wondered what steps he should take to prevent a repetition of such an act. Instead of putting the machinery of the law in motion, he placed the following ad in the newspapers: "Whoever stole a quantity of hides on the 5th of this month is hereby informed that the owner has a sincere wish to be his friend. If poverty tempted him to take this step, the owner will keep the whole transaction secret and will gladly help him to obtain money by means more likely to bring him peace of mind."
A few nights later, when the family was about to retire to rest, a man knocked at the door of the Quaker's house, carrying with him a bundle of skins. "I have brought them back," he said. "It is the first time I ever stole anything, and I have felt very bad about it." "Let it be the last, friend." said the Quaker. "The secret still lies between ourselves." He spoke to the man faithfully and affectionately about the folly of dishonesty and of the claims of the gospel. He also took him into his employment, and the man became a changed character, living an exemplary life from then on.

Love Your Enemies
A story is told of Peter Miller, a plain Baptist preacher living in Ephrata, Pennsylvania in the days of the Revolutionary War. Near his church lived a man who maligned the pastor to the last degree. The man became involved in treason and was arrested and sentenced to be hanged. The preacher started out on foot and walked the all seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead for the man's life. Washington heard his plea, but he said, "No, your plea for your friend cannot be granted." "My friend!" said the preacher. "He is the worst enemy I have." "What!" said Washington, "you have walked nearly seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. I will grant the pardon."