**********
Amazing grace... How sweet the sound... That saved a wretch like me. "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognized hymns ever written. It was penned by an ex-slave trader who realized the extent of forgiveness Jesus had given to him. If God could forgive this man who was responsible for devastating the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children, then maybe God's grace is something that is truly amazing.
I have come to realize how powerful this word grace really is. It is when we extend grace to one another that the power of change begins to be something that we are open to working in our lives. Without grace, change is almost impossible to make happen. I find it very interesting that only Christianity builds its religion on the issue of grace. Without grace, what Christians believe is completely worthless and actually quite dangerous. So goes any religion that doesn't have as its cornerstone the incredible gift of grace.
You have to remember that grace happens when we don't receive what we deserve. All other world religions are busy telling you what will happen if you don't do what you are suppose to do. In other words, you had better tow the line or you will get what you deserve. Christianity is unique in that our God knows we can't tow the line perfectly on this side of heaven. He has chosen to NOT give us what we deserve. Though our failure to tow the line makes us just as guilty as it does in any other religion, Christianity is all about forgiveness in spite of how far we miss the mark.
I don't believe that we can possibly live this life as the victor God made for us if we don't understand the importance and appreciate the significance of grace in our lives. Were it not for grace, you would be doomed. Today alone, you will fall short in ways that absolute demand your destruction. The fact that you get to take another breath is a gift of grace way to many of us miss on a moment by moment basis.
I know some will want to argue with me the fact that our actions aren't all that bad. It is easy to justify our relative goodness when compared to some really bad people in our world today. Problem is that God doesn't look at our missing the mark that way. He doesn't say that us missing the mark a little bit is OK since someone else missed it so badly. The fact that God is a perfect being means that even a slight miss of the mark is deserving of death. I know that sounds harsh, but that's the reality of dealing with perfection. That's why grace is such a powerful force for change. It is as we realize that we are NOT doomed to get what we deserve that we are so much more open to changing our ways.
What I have seen is that we can sometimes twist grace into something that we deserve. When often we think we have earned the grace we have been given. When we live in this fallacy, we negate the power of this amazing gift in our lives. Grace can never be deserved. Grace is given and can never be earned. The world has done a really good job of making us think things about grace that ensure the power of grace will be absent in our lives.
Even the Apostle Paul realized the power of grace in his life. Check out today's Bible reading with me now.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 (NIV)
"...by the grace of God I am what I am..." If we could get that line into our everyday thinking, grace would be a powerhouse unlike anything else we could ever expect. Paul was no slouch when it came to who he was. His life was on a crash course with destiny. Some think that Paul would have ended up leading the entire Jewish nation later on in his life. He was a zealot for God. He did things to make victims of those who dared go against his interpretation of what God was doing in and around his life.
Much of Paul's life was spent doing in order to be who he thought he should be. He took radical, risky and dangerous steps to make his life count for something he thought would make who he was have impact for the God he served. Then he encountered Jesus.
Things changed dramatically for Paul after that chance meeting. Doing took on a different perspective for Paul. Our reading today shows us that Paul now saw what He did in a way that was empowered by grace. It wasn't what Paul did that made him something in this God's eyes. It was what God did through Paul that made all the difference for him.
More than that, it is what God didn't do that made Paul fall to his knees in worship. God didn't destroy Paul for persecuting those who followed Jesus like Paul was so famous for doing in that day. Grace saved Paul. He knew it. Grace changed Paul so completely that many didn't believe he was telling the truth when he spoke of Jesus the way he did the rest of his life. Paul's past actions couldn't be forgiven by those victimized by his being so zealous for God. But, God could forgive Paul. That kind of grace changed Paul's life. That same grace stands at the ready to change your life as well.
Paul never became the leader of the Jewish nation like many thought he was destined to be. In fact, Paul's life fizzled out by how the world measures things. Paul was executed for preaching the good news of grace through Jesus Christ. Yet, grace made Paul's life count for something. Though Paul never achieved what many thought his destiny would be, God's destiny happened through a man who's life was cut short by the hatred of this world. Much of what the Christian church studies and learns from came from this man who was changed by the power of grace in his life.
How amazing is grace in your life? If you are like me, grace doesn't always rise to the level of amazing often enough to make change happen. I'm trying to change that. I change as I stop and realize how much what I deserve has been held back in my life. Whether my life turns out to be what I think it was destined for, I want to live like Paul did. I hope it is as I believe "...by the grace of God I am what I am..." that no matter what my day turns out to be, grace can have the power to make who I am shine like the victor God sees me to be.
"...by the grace of God I am what I am..." If we could get that line into our everyday thinking, grace would be a powerhouse unlike anything else we could ever expect. Paul was no slouch when it came to who he was. His life was on a crash course with destiny. Some think that Paul would have ended up leading the entire Jewish nation later on in his life. He was a zealot for God. He did things to make victims of those who dared go against his interpretation of what God was doing in and around his life.
Much of Paul's life was spent doing in order to be who he thought he should be. He took radical, risky and dangerous steps to make his life count for something he thought would make who he was have impact for the God he served. Then he encountered Jesus.
Things changed dramatically for Paul after that chance meeting. Doing took on a different perspective for Paul. Our reading today shows us that Paul now saw what He did in a way that was empowered by grace. It wasn't what Paul did that made him something in this God's eyes. It was what God did through Paul that made all the difference for him.
More than that, it is what God didn't do that made Paul fall to his knees in worship. God didn't destroy Paul for persecuting those who followed Jesus like Paul was so famous for doing in that day. Grace saved Paul. He knew it. Grace changed Paul so completely that many didn't believe he was telling the truth when he spoke of Jesus the way he did the rest of his life. Paul's past actions couldn't be forgiven by those victimized by his being so zealous for God. But, God could forgive Paul. That kind of grace changed Paul's life. That same grace stands at the ready to change your life as well.
Paul never became the leader of the Jewish nation like many thought he was destined to be. In fact, Paul's life fizzled out by how the world measures things. Paul was executed for preaching the good news of grace through Jesus Christ. Yet, grace made Paul's life count for something. Though Paul never achieved what many thought his destiny would be, God's destiny happened through a man who's life was cut short by the hatred of this world. Much of what the Christian church studies and learns from came from this man who was changed by the power of grace in his life.
How amazing is grace in your life? If you are like me, grace doesn't always rise to the level of amazing often enough to make change happen. I'm trying to change that. I change as I stop and realize how much what I deserve has been held back in my life. Whether my life turns out to be what I think it was destined for, I want to live like Paul did. I hope it is as I believe "...by the grace of God I am what I am..." that no matter what my day turns out to be, grace can have the power to make who I am shine like the victor God sees me to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment