BROADCASTS.com

b'Oliver, the cat I adopted years ago, is asleep on the couch beside me right now. He\\u2019s gained a little weight over the years, and now he\\u2019s quite fat and happy. He\\u2019s had a wonderful life since he decided to trust us and take the gift of grace my family extended to him that week we left food out on the porch. And now he\\u2019s reaping the benefits!\\nBut about a month after Oliver joined our family, another cat was spotted wandering around our house. He was a beige cat with orange spots, and he was very skinny. We\\u2019d see him jumping in and out of our garbage can, searching for food. I named him Popeye, and he looked like he was in pretty bad shape.\\nIn my cat-adopting enthusiasm (I may have a small problem), I left a bowl of food out for our new guest! Popeye was afraid\\u2014I could see it in his eyes. He never let anyone from my family get within ten feet of him before darting into the woods.\\nEvery once in a while, he would venture up to the porch for a few bites of food. But I only saw him a few times before, one day, he took off and never came back.\\nThe same grace that was extended to Oliver, the fluffy, chubby gray cat sleeping beside me, was extended to the fearful cat who spent a few cold weeks living in our garbage can. If Popeye had only accepted our free gift like Oliver did, his life would look a lot different.\\nThis was another huge lesson about grace that I learned from cats. If we reject the free gift God is offering to us\\u2014the gift of adoption and eternal life in Christ\\u2014 we only hurt ourselves. But when we embrace the gift\\u2014when we open our hands to the grace God wants to shower on us\\u2014our lives will never be the same because, in Christ, we are now beloved members of God\\u2019s kingdom and family. \\n\\u2022 What questions do you have about God\\u2019s gift of grace and adoption? Who could you talk to about these questions? (If you want to dig deeper into what it means to know Jesus, be sure to check out our \\u201cKnow Jesus\\u201d page.)\\n\\u2022 What are some of the reasons someone might reject the gift of eternal life? \\n\\u2022 What are specific ways you can show others the love and grace of Jesus? \\nFor you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Abba, Father!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Romans 8:15 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nJohn 3:36; Romans 8:12-17; 1 John 3:1'