Good to Grace ~ Seven Layer Cake

Greetings Dear Reader,

When I taught Information Technology at the college level, one of the primary things students had to master was the Open Systems Information (OSI) model.  It is a seven-layer set of protocols that explains the flow of information through a network.  Each semester my networking students had to come up with creative ways to demonstrate their understanding of the OSI model.

Over the years students presented nesting dolls, video games, and even a song to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas.  One group of students made a list of thirty different ways to remember the layers of the model.  My favorite project over those years was the seven-layer cake presented one fall semester.

It was not just that the cake represented the layers of the model well.  It was delicious, stable, and beautifully created.  The cake was colored like a rainbow but each layer had an increasingly richer flavor.  As I have been thinking about the nature of grace this week, it has occurred to me that it is like this cake but the layers of grace are infinite.

The Father extends grace to us to draw us to him.  When we respond to that grace, he then gives us more to follow his Son.  As we begin to draw closer in our journey with the Son, he extends grace to every area of our lives to teach us how to love him better.  He gives us the grace we need to see how to love our fellow travelers as he loves them.  The Father even provides the grace we need to extend grace to those we encounter on our journey. 

Grace carries with it all the rich flavors of love that are available when we align our hearts with the Father.  We receive it layer upon layer as we yield our hearts and minds to love, kindness, and mercy.  We can taste the sweetness of patience, generosity, and humility as we serve them to others.  All of this flows to us and through us in a conduit of grace.

It is vital that I savor grace at every opportunity, Dear Reader.  In grace, I receive and in grace I am able to give.  The Father is the source of all grace both as I accept it and as I pass it on to others.  It is faith that allows us to receive it and even that is built upon generous servings of grace from the Father.  Grace becomes rich, delicious, and a constant delight to us as we experience it.  Oh, and in case you were wondering Dear Reader, grace is never fattening no matter how much we take in or pass on to others.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

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When we see the journey of our lives through the Father’s eyes, we will see layer upon layer of sweet grace that allows us to become good.