Category: Christian life

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Lesson in Grace

It is so true that, when we least expect it, God brings things our way to teach us. Last Friday, I had a run-in with a boy in my class. He is a Christian and is not afraid to let everyone know it. He can also be a behavior problem at times. His attitude toward school and authority is not what you would call good, and occasionally we will clash.

He came into class griping about something, and was some what disrespectful to the teacher I work with. After listening for a bit, I had had enough. I said, “If you’re going to act the way you do, and have that kind of attitude, just stop calling yourself a Christian.”

Last night, God told me that I needed to apologize for my self righteous arrogance. I came in this morning and called the student aside and apologized to him. Somehow, in the middle of my apology, I got the brilliant idea that this was an opportunity to teach this young man about grace. Instead, he reached out his hand and said, “That’s okay, I know we all have problems and things God is working on us about. I know I’ve got anger issues, and I’m trying to deal with it.” Then he shook my hand and went to class. Then God reached out and lightly smacked me on the back of the head. I realized that I was the one who needed to learn the lesson about grace. In effect, what the student had said to me is, “It’s okay, we’re all broken in some way. But you’re my brother so I love you”.

That’s what God says to us. “I know you’re not perfect, and you’re going to screw up. But you’re my child and I love you”. “My grace is big enough to cover everything”.

Because God has given us the gift of his unending grace, we need to extend that same grace to those we come in contact with. Because we’re all broken and we all need grace, both from God and from each other.

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Good Friday

This evening, we went downtown for a Stations of the Cross service. I was privileged to help carry the cross to one of the stations. It gave me just a minuscule taste of what my Savior went through.

While we were at one of the stations, a transit bus pulled away from a stop and drowned out part of what was being said. I thought how for most people in our town, life was going on as usual tonight. I imagine that on the day that Jesus was crucified, life went on as usual for many of the people in Jerusalem. The religious leaders had a day that was out of the ordinary, as did the followers of Jesus. I would guess that most of the folks in the city went about the usual preparations for the Sabbath. The darkness and earthquake threw a bit of a scare into them, but it may have been a minor inconvenience.

How many of us are like that? Sure, we believe that Jesus died to save us, that his blood cleanses us from sin. We are thankful for that, we sing songs about how much we love him and we “Amen” sermons about the cross. But we go on and live our lives as if nothing significant happened, and life goes on as usual. What difference has the cross made? Is it really important, or is it just something that defines our religious system as different from others?

Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to buy us a ticket to heaven. His sacrifice was not so we could use the cross to prove that we are better than others. Jesus suffered and died so that we who were dead could live. He died to make us children of God. His death takes away all our sin and our guilt so we no longer have to live in fear. We are free because of the cross.

Jesus’ death also serves as the example of the way we should love others. He said that the greatest love was to lay down your life for your friends, and then he laid his life down for us. Jesus also gave a command that we love others in the same way that he loved us. He said that our love would prove to others that we belong to him.

Do we live in a manner that puts others first? Are we known for our love and sacrifice, or are we known for the things we are against? Is our life characterized by simplicity and generosity or are we wrapped up in the pursuit of the American Dream?

Has the cross made a difference in our lives? Is it continuing to make a difference?

Or is life going on as usual?

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The only thing we have to fear is fear…

…and yet we live in fear. Parents fear that something is going to happen to their children. Children fear that something is going to happen to their family. Democrats and Republicans both fear that the other party is going to win the White House. Christians on the right fear losing the “culture war”. Christians on the left fear the right being an influence. Some fear being deprived of their freedoms, others fear the influence of “the world”. Ministers fear that their ministries will fail.
We fear the future, and we fear the results of past actions. At some level, we all fear failure. We don’t want to not measure up, to not please God.

I’ve been reading Following Jesus by N.T. Wright and Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson, and one of the things they both emphasize is that fear is not to be a part of the Christian’s life. We are children of the God who raised Jesus from the dead. The fact that Jesus is raised from the dead changes everything. It means that God is in control, that no matter what happens, God is making all things right. His Kingdom is coming and His will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We are also children of a God who has loved us with an everlasting love, and has shown us an infinite amount of grace. Because of this love and grace, we can be sure of the promise that God will work everything out for the purpose of making us into the image of Jesus. The Apostle John tells us that this perfect love drives out fear. God’s grace is free and is inexhaustible. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor and there is nothing we can do to drive His favor away.

Think about it. We don’t have to live in fear. The resurrection of Jesus and the grace God has shown us mean that God is going to work in us and all of His children. We don’t have to worry when our spiritual growth is not where we think it should be, or when someone else’s growth is not where we think it should be. We can live freely, knowing that our Father loves us and takes everything in our lives and works in and through that. Even when we screw up, God’s grace is still ours and His Spirit is still working.

I want to live a life that is free of fear. I want to totally depend on God’s grace and His resurrection power. I want to sin boldly and trust God even more boldly, to paraphrase Martin Luther.