Red Tape

Jemuel had been retired two years when he finally received his SSS pension. Before then, he was told to retrieve all documents from his past office, which had already closed shop. He was also told to produce affidavits to prove that the person Jemuel M. Vargas was the same as Jemuel Vargas. 

At the SSS office, he begged to see the person in charge of records, but was told that he had to make an appointment. It would have been so easy to explain how, somewhere along the way, the office he was working for had dropped his middle name from some documents. 

Meanwhile, Jemuel’s health was deteriorating and he could hardly commute from one place to another for all the SSS requirements. 

Red tape. 

We are all familiar with how it stretches to years what otherwise could be done in days. 

Contrast this with the way the Lord made Himself so accessible. He even provided us a number of ways to reach Him: praying with our voice, our thoughts, and our pens. We can also listen to Him anytime by reading His Word.  

At any moment we can talk to the Creator of the universe! Not only are we welcomed into His presence, we are also invited, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

“Let us come boldly.” No ID card, no password, no waiting time, and no appointment necessary to reach our heavenly Father. 

No red tape.     

In fact, we are told, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need . . . Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand . . .” ( Philippians 4:6-7) 

Grace is more accessible than anything we can think of.