What If...Grace Ruled?

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. -- John 1:14-17 NIV

Grace is defined in many ways, but theological grace (the grace of Christ) is defined as:

• the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
• the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
• a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.  
• Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.

 

There are two stories that absolutely fly in the face of grace that I want to share with you.  I'll be very honest, I struggle with examples like this because it brings out in me feelings that I don't think I should have, but at the same time I feel like Jesus would have felt on some level had he come across situations like these when He walked the Earth.  I feel very, very strongly about this.  There is always an open seat at the table, always a plate of food to share, always a ready ear and a kind word to be shared.  If we live under God's grace, then the best way we can put it on display is to always be ready to share it with others. 

I hope these stories anger you, or that they at least cause you to resolve yourself never to repeat them or anything like them.

First, A young pastor had been given his first chance to preach the Sunday morning message at a small church.  As he stood at the top of the steps and greeted the regulars (this wasn't a place who had visitors often), he watched as an unfamiliar car drove up and parked in the parking lot.  It wasn't an expensive car and it might even have backfired a couple of times.  A young woman wearing jeans and a faded T-shirt got out and opened the back door and started to pull two young children out of the back seat.  She looked quite frazzled and anxious.  The pastor noticed as she got out that one of the elder women of the church was headed out to greet the young woman.  The elder woman walked right up to the younger woman and, in a voice audible to the pastor, proceeded to tell the younger woman, "I'm not sure this is the church for you.  You see, we wear our best when we come to God's house."  Without saying a word, the young woman put her child back in the car and left.  We don't know what ever came of her and her children.

 

Second, there was a small group leader at a church I used to attend who had struggled to get people to come to his group.  He thought about quitting, in fact, in his discouragement at having no one at his group to lead.  But God blessed him and people started coming.  That went well and then more people started coming.  It got to a point where his living room was full each week.  So when he got a call from a young couple looking for a group to join, he told them the group was full and he couldn't invite them to attend.  I'm not really sure if that couple ever found a group or if they even still attend church or not.

There is a long section of the Gospels devoted to Jesus warning the religious leaders of the day against instances like these, and many others.  He also warned everyone else that while it is good to follow the law, they should not follow the example of the teachers of the law when they didn't practice what they preached.

 

Grace is giving someone a chance because they need someone to give them a chance.  It's welcoming the outcasts and feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.  It's using our skills and our blessings to bless others in Jesus' name.  Everything I've written about this week boils down to us being more connected to God and more willing to boldly display it for others to see.  I'm not talking about standing on a street corner in a suit yelling at people in cars at the top of my lungs and calling that teaching.  I'm talking about never missing an opportunity to be there for anyone God chooses to put in our path and appreciating every second that He's given us, and using our time here to allow God to work through us to make a difference in eternity.

Hang on to the things you've felt and the thoughts you've had this week.  Let God have control of every part of your life.  Love to live and live to love.  Let grace rule.