I was thinking about common grace an awful lot lately when my place got swamped, and all sorts of people from my neighbours (they were closest and helped out first - after all, we were cut off from the rest of the world for about two or three days) to my family to people in my Apex club and my church, as well as some kind people from the local school who just turned up one afternoon and wanted to lend a hand and help clean up.  Some of these people were Christians.  Some were not.  Some I have no idea.  What I do know is that in a time of need they helped me, and I am grateful to them all.

This would be an argument from some (not that anyone who helped out was into a gabfest on philosophy - you had to keep your gob shut to keep the silt out) that religion is irrelevant and that as long as in times like this we all pull together and help each other out that is the important thing.  I don't think so - it didn't was with me before and it doesn't now. 

I was raised as an atheist.  My parents are both members of the 'good person religion' - they claim that either nothing is out there or if there is they don't know what it is.  And I don't know what it is, either, even if I think I do.  The most important thing is that you are a 'good person'.

Being a good person is important - I received help from all sorts of people who were doing a good thing - helping out someone who couldn't help themselves (ie, me).  At times in the past I've had the chance to help other people out, and I hope I will have the chance to do so into the future.  It makes me fell good, and it is the right thing to do - it accords with my conscience.  In addition to this, I know as a Christian it is what God wants me to do.  That is why he gave us all a conscience to begin with. 

When we do good, or when we see other people doing good to us, what we see is image bearers of a good God doing good, just as their Creator did before them and does beside them.  No matter if people deny that they were made by a good God with their words, yet they cannot help but do good things at least some of the time because they bear His image still.  What I see when I see people of whatever religion doing good to help someone in need is that this is the goodness, the grace, of finite, fallen, imperfect people.  How much more, then, should we not be open to the grace that comes from the perfectly good and incredibly strong God who made us?