Presence of Grace

What will it take for us to believe that it is true?

I mean, do we understand what is at work here? Are we really that clueless, that fearful, that cynical?

Grace. I am talking about the presence of grace. God’s grace. We have been given a gift. Everyone of us. Grace. God’s free gift of love that cannot be taken away, forgiveness that cannot be undone, and redemption that is as ironclad as you can possibly make it. And you know what? There isn’t a thing in the world you and I can do to earn it. It’s free from God and it is made concrete in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Some people don’t like the fact that we cannot earn grace. They are under the assumption they can be good enough for grace. Others cannot believe that grace is available for “those people,” whoever “those people” might be. Still others fall to their knees in joy and thanksgiving that something like grace could be offered to them.

Some friends of mine have teased me over the years as being the eternal optimist. I am an optimist because of grace. I know God has a hold of my heart.

I mean, we are all flawed creatures. If you disagree then maybe we need to talk. Actually, if you believe that you are not flawed, I don’t know if I want to talk with you. That sounds like a lot of work on my part.

You don’t have to clean up your act to be a part of the Christian community. The church is filled with broken and immature people who have a long way to go emotionally, ethically, and spiritually. I know because I am one of them. I am broken and flawed. I am a pastor of a church filled with broken and flawed people. Our church is a hospital for sinners. All of our churches are hospitals for sinners.

What we do have is a community of people who, out of their own freedom, have decided to respond to this free gift of God’s grace with as much faith and love as we possibly can. We are working hard to understand what has been given to us and how to best use that gift in this world. Sometimes it is easy, most of the time it takes a lot of study, conversation, and prayer to figure out how to best use that gift in our world. We don’t have it figured out and we are okay with that because we are secure in the love God has for us. We have experienced grace.

I am so thankful for the people I am working with in my Christian community. I am thankful for their love, their faith, their questions and doubts. I am learning so much from the people in my church and from the others I have met in this community. We know we are broken but we also know that something way above our pay grade has graced us with forgiveness, with redemption, with love. Amen!