Lost in Grace...

There is an unofficial rule in my family. We never forget a mistake. I a’m not saying we are unforgiving or that we donÂ’t love each other, but between my siblings we love to harass each other. For instance when I was 15 years old (25 years ago) I made spaghetti for a family gathering and instead of putting in a dash of cayenne, I added cinnamon to the sauce. Since that day if the word spaghetti is mentioned, so in the word cinnamon.

We live in a world that is a lot like my family. They like to remember, especially the bad stuff. Maybe you haven't noticed? How easy it is to forget when something noble, admirable and honorable is done. How quick to forget the friend you helped out in dark times or the person you shared the Gospel with when they were at the end of their rope. Why is that?

I think it is because bad stuff is more interesting. From high school hallways to corporate board rooms, we like bad news. It makes us feel somehow superior to know somebody else has screwed up way worse that we have. We love the sliding scale...that as long as somebody is farther down on the road to Hell than us, we must be doing okay.

I am glad God does not work on the same scale. First of all, do you really want everything you deserve? I know I sure don't! Don't get me wrong, I usually like fair, as long as it is my version of fair. However, in the end, I much prefer grace...that unmerited love that only God can give, not matter what. A friend of mine is fond of saying, "Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. Your best days are never so good that you're beyond the need of God's grace."

That is awesome, isn't it? I don't know about you, but I tend to get down when things go wrong. My very conservative upbringing has me playing soul tapes like, "this is just what you deserve," and "you are beyond hope and worthless." Then, I turn to the Word and realize that while these tapes might be true on some level, God loves me anyway...anyway. I am glad that I continue to find myself...

Lost in Grace,
Marty

Sticks and Stones...

Remember the nursery rhyme? Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. That is about the biggest pile of baloney I have ever heard. Words tear down, destroy and sting our very souls.

The writer of Proverbs reminds us that the tongue is a weapon of destruction. In a myriad of ways I have been stung by another's harsh words, gossip and malicious talk over the past few days. What amazes me most is that these are not "worldly" people. These are people within the covenant of God, who call themselves Christians and attend church (some in leadership positions) every day.

One of my favorite stories of the New Testament is when Jesus is brought a woman about to get stoned (not in the modern way, but meaning about to get beaten to death by rocks). Two things strike me about the story. If you don't know it, the woman is brought to Jesus. The Pharisees (church folk of the day) say that the woman was caught in the act of adultery and the law allows for her to be killed in the public square. They ask Jesus what he thinks. Instead of giving them a long diatribe on grace and forgiveness, or picking up a stone himself, he kneels and begins writing in the sand. We don't know what he wrote, but wouldn't you like to know? I have always, in my "hermeneutical imagination" thought he began writing a list of sins that each of those with a stone in hand had committed. Then, instead of answering them, he simply says, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." The silence is deafening. Then there is the thud of rocks hitting the ground as the crowd disperses. Only Jesus, the only one without sin by the way, and the woman are left. "Where are those who would accuse you?" he asks. She replies, "they have gone." "Go and sin no more..." Wow! Forgiveness and reconciliation in one simple statement.

The ancient proverb says, "do not judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes." I have long been a staunch, sometimes overly judgmental evangelical. What I have learned, and am continuing to learn, is not to throw rocks. The people I disagree with most are those that I am becoming most burdened to reach. Not to convert them to my way of thinking, but to invite them to continue following Jesus with me and to drop their stones.

I am a sinner. That fact I am painfully aware of. Conviction is my burden in this life of faith but, thanks be to God, my partner is grace. God's unmerited, undeserved love. So, what of these who accuse me of eating with sinners and whose gossip stings my heart. My prayer is that they too will put down their rocks and join me:

On the Journey,

Marty