Amazing Grace

It’s amazing that people whom we strive hard to serve treat us with contempt while God embraces us for the smallest effort. That’s grace for you. It’s not that God doesn't care about how we serve Him. But God accepts the fact that we make mistakes; we get distracted or we’re just plain slow to catch on. God doesn't excuse failure without consequences, nor is He indifferent to it. God recognizes weakness exists side by side with sincerity and works to turn that weakness into strength. God is not as willing as men to throw people away. In fact, He continues to invest in people long after they have cast Him away. He sends the rain on both the just and the unjust because He’s willing to bless without regard to the return on His investment.

Grace is not dependent on works, that is, it is not earned and cannot be earned. You don’t have to do x, y, and z to find favor with God. It’s only necessary to receive it by faith. Amazing. Jesus told His disciples, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” There’s no requirement for the recipient to prove himself worthy. Grace gives without regard to merit. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”                                                                                          Paul of Tarsus

A Christian should be of the mind that his thinking and opinions will run contrary to those of society in general. Moreover, he needs grace to accept this with joy. His successful life will not necessarily look like success to his neighbors. This should come as no surprise since we are using a different yardstick.

There is no inherent wrong in recognition, fame or riches. It is not a sin to be physically attractive or talented. These things can be a stumbling block, but they are not wrong or undesirable in and of themselves. The real harm in the world’s vision of success lies in the fact that attainment is the end of greatness--the supreme measure of personal worth and success. No matter what you tell yourself, the desire to be wealthy or famous is simply to satisfy the self; there is no other purpose. But we need not be as high-minded as that. It is not money, but the love of money that is the root of all evil. It is as easy to be a poor sinner as a rich one.

Insistence on your right to respectful treatment, kindness and fairness can bedevil as easily as uncontrolled avarice. Whenever the object is self-satisfaction and defense of image, (as God told Cain) sin lieth at the door.” If Christ suffered outrage upon His person with silence and forgiveness, can Christians do less? If you curse a cashier or waitress, have you elevated your worth; have you put them in their place (below you)? I think not and what have we done to our soul in the bargain?

It is the soul of a man that endures. Whether we are rich or poor, it is what we do with what we have that matters. Godliness and the grace to accept God’s plan for our life with contentment and trust we not only give us peace within, but will last an eternity. A godly man builds other men. By lifting them up, he is lifted. A line in one of my favorite songs says, “Heaven waits and the angels are applauding the man who lives his life by faith.” What have we greater than the angels; yet they applaud with joy over one sinner who comes to God.

Are you thankful for what God has given or are you worrying over that one tree He has said “no” to? The scripture says He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness--can you be content with that?

Growing Grace

“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”  

----St Peter

Peter, leaving his discussion of the world’s end, left for his readers an unfailing recipe for life---grow in grace. Here’s the thing, grace is the unmerited favor of God. The scripture says, “for by grace are ye saved through faith, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. Therefore, we receive salvation as an act of grace. That is, salvation is not earned by practicing certain behaviors or by believing certain doctrines or going to a certain church. Grace is a gift given by God to men who did nothing to earn it. If grace is a gift from God, then don’t we simply possess the amount of grace God gave? But, if we can’t grow grace, why would the Holy Spirit tell us to grow in grace?
Let’s tackle the first question. The answer is relatively simple. We possess the measure of grace that God has given to us as an individual. “According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” This measure of faith is the grace that will lead each Christian to his rightful place in the body of Christ. We can do less, but we cannot no more than God gives us grace to do. Paul, plagued by an unspecified thorn in the flesh, prayed for relief. The answer to Paul’s prayers was, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Evidently the measure of grace God gave Paul was enough for his situation, no more was coming even though Paul thought it might be necessary.

We cannot get, nor do we need more grace. The scripture urges us to grow in grace because we need to understand and appreciate the magnitude of the gift we have already been given. To grow in grace is to spend our life discovering that God’s grace really is sufficient. His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, including grace for every situation. But, let’s face facts, many times we are anything but gracious. Growing in grace is learning to tap into His grace in every situation. This is especially true in difficult times.

It’s easy to blame our lack of graciousness on stress, fatigue, or other people’s behavior. The truth is we have done nothing but turn our back on God’s invitation to grow in grace. I realize that little gem of truth doesn’t make it any easier to be gracious to obnoxious people. Who ever said being godly was easy? An equally hard truth is that practice makes perfect. Meaning that God wants us to be gracious and will send us as many tests as it takes for us to achieve it. The upside (yes, there is an upside) is that knowing this is half the battle. Practice grace. Bless when you’d rather curse; help when you’d rather watch a fool flounder; pray for those you’d rather have as prey. In other words treat people like you’d like to be treated--say, haven’t we all heard that somewhere before?