Sand Castle Faith...

OK, first read this. It's a lot of don't do this, if you do that you have to do this to become clean, and so on and so on, that is the tone of the book of Leviticus in the "BIBLE". Now read this....How are they related?
A couple weeks ago while doing my quiet time, I read both just like you just did. Think about this for a minute...In the first passage, it's a bunch of rules. The rules were probably handed down by GOD to protect the Israelites from disease. In the second passage you have a man who was possessed by MANY demons and Jesus cast them out and gave him a new life. Shortly after Jesus freed this man, he was willing to follow Jesus anywhere. What did Jesus do? He sent him home to his family. What kind of testimony do you think this guy had when he returned home?
Here is what hit me like a ton of bricks: This guy had not one DEMON but several DEMONS IN HIM and JESUS said: "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Let that sink in for a second. Read it again if you have to. I think a lot of times we get lost in the "rules" that we don't keep, and forget that we can be used just like we are.
Confession time: I like to smoke cigars. I drink a beer or two or five from time to time. I tend to cuss when my team is doing something stupid (which happens a lot) or I hit a bad golf shot (which definitely happens all the time). Some might consider me to be a little arrogant. I am certainly not bragging here. These are things that I don't want to do, but have slipped up on me on more than one occasion. I think Paul calls it "doing the things I don't want to do" (that Paul, he's a smart guy.) You see, I get wrapped up in these things and don't take comfort in the GRACE that GOD provides. If the demon possessed guy can accept God's grace, then why can't I?
Shortly after reading these verses, I heard this song by Caedmon's Call on my way to work. It's a song I have heard about a billion times. Then this verse scorched me...
Waters rose as my doubts reigned My sand-castle faith, it slipped away Found myself standing on your grace It'd been there all the time.
This may not have made a bit of sense. I have been meaning to write this for some time, but never got around to it. Today, I had a three hour drive to reflect on it, so now was as good a time as ever.
Thanks for reading...
ITOMD