Devotion
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
The dull clanking of machinery tumbled along. Another day full of factory noises consuming his mind and thoughts. Another day of production comes to a close. He clocks out and begins walking home. Above he sees a solitary plane, so high he almost misses it. A flash of sunlight reflects off the fuselage, and then it turns away.
Then everything is light. The brightest light he’s ever seen. A light taking over the city. And then a wind, a wave of force pressing him back. Then came the sound, a low thud; a million-pound bag of concrete dropped at his feet. It tried to shake his ribcage loose from his chest. It seemed that the Earth itself might split in two.
His mind tumbled with confusion. What just happened? What could have caused such an explosion? He decided to head straight for his hometown many miles away. It would take all day, but he needed to be away from this city. What if there was another explosion? He was only here to help a friend for a few days in a factory that probably no longer existed.
He finally made it home and tried to describe his experience. His family couldn’t understand. He went to work the next day and tried to explain it to his boss. They were sitting in his office, and right at the very moment he tried to describe the tremendous noise of the explosion, they were knocked off their feet as the entire factory began shaking and crumbling. His hometown, Nagasaki, Japan, had just become the second city ever hit by an atomic bomb. The first, Hiroshima, was where he had been the day before.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi is the only person to have been officially recognized as having survived both bombings. How can one properly describe how he managed to survive both bombings? We cannot know Mr. Yamaguchi’s beliefs about God, but we can say with confidence that he experienced an extreme measure of grace.
What did he do to rescue himself from this danger? Nothing, in fact he unknowingly put himself in harm’s way. It was only through the incredible grace of God that he escaped.
Question
Have you experienced being protected from harm in a way that could only be explained by God’s grace?
Prayer
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that you show us Grace and protect us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our choices. Thank you for caring for us and rescuing us, even when we don’t deserve it. Help us to walk daily, full of gratitude for your love for us.
