Walking in Grace

Or should I say living in grace?

I have been doing some reading lately. And . . . It is unlike me. If you are not a reader the I would suggest this book . . .

"Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller

OK. I do understand the irony of telling non-readers to read a book . . . A non-reader telling non-readers . . . oi

Now that we are beyond that, Miller writes in a very art-filled way. He even describes things and situations by color. The title for instance. (Kinda like the Chris Rice song, "Smell the Color Nine".) Rambling again . . . sorry.

In this book he talks a bit about grace. Here's my explanation in my own words.

Everyone, and I think with this I can get away with saying everyone, has a view of what a Christian is. Whether they are one or not. And everyone, again this is legal, has an idea of what a Christian should be. I bet I can safely say that most, if not all (again with the clarifying, argh) Christians would not consider themselves what they should be. To me this has become quite interesting lately.

Never, and I think I can get away with this absolute, has a pregnant woman ever said, "I wish I was more pregnant." Like you may have heard before, and if you haven't the statement is still true, you are either pregnant or you aren't. You can't be more than less. You can be further along in your progress . . . Closer to your due date than your sister for example. But you and your sister are both as pregnant as they come.

So, how can one be more Christian than another? That there is a loaded question. Well, in light of the previous paragraph one would have to say no. But people all over the place don't live in that reality. It seems as if we have a unwritten rule book called, "How to be the Best Christian . . . Ever". We then live our lives according to our interpretation of that book. If you drink you aren' t as good then if you don't. If you miss church you better have a good reason or you slip down in the standings. If you tithe and how much. Do you swear? Do you smoke? Do you drive a Ford? Do you vote Republican? Do you have a tattoo? Earring (guys)? Listen to secular music? Watch R-rated movies? Let your kids play with Pokemon or read Harry Potter?

As I listed those statement above I could imagine some people having a cow . . . Really?! How could you be a good Christian and ______________? You fill in the blank.

You know what. It doesn't matter.

That's what I said.

There was this group of people in the Bible that Jesus could never get along with. They were always trying to find ways to kill him or at least turn the crowds against him. The ironic thing is, these guys were the "holy of holy". The knew all the rules, kept all the rules, and even wrote a whole bunch of them. They helped people realize the error of their ways. If they were so holy then why didn't they mesh with the Son of God? In short, they were all about the rules. Jesus' whole motif was about love. God's love. God so loved the world that he gave Jesus for that world.

Let me explain . . .
I have four children. My children all know that they are just that . . . My children. They are not like the neighbor kid that can only come over if he calls first . . . And when he does he can only stay for a limited time, like until its time for supper. Also, they are not like the pet dog that is only allowed on certain furniture and in certain rooms. For the most part they have free reign of the house. They don't call before coming over . . . They don't even have to knock at the front door to come in. They know that if they come home from school and walk into the house, go straight into the living room they can crawl up on daddy's lap and be loved and accepted. That's the way it is. They are my children. They belong in the house. They belong with me.

Like all households, in our house their are rules. Nothing too far out of the ordinary. Don't leave your shoes on past the entrance way. Don't write on the walls. Don't touch the stove just to name only a few. We have these rules because we love them. And because we love them we want them to live in a nice house and to stay safe. In turn, they follow the rules because of the same reasons . . . They know we love them and so forth. If my oldest son runs in all excited about winning his soccer game and forgets to take off his cleats he doesn't his loose his rank. He isn't demoted to neighbor-kid status. He gets reminded (well, re-reminded) of the rule. He heads back to the entrance way to remove his shoes . . . Of course this is after he gives me the highlights of the game. As a good father I would be more concerned about hearing his story than the rule that was broken (I often am quick on the rules . . . Hence the "good" part of that sentence. I'm still learning.) There may be a consequence for the broken rule like having him get down and clean the mud that he tracked into the living room. But he is no less my son than he was before the indiscretion.

I could give other examples but I am sure that you get the point. If you are a Christ Folloer and If you do something wrong, whether by mistake or on purpose, you are still in. You may have consequences. You may have to break a habit. But the biggest thing is that God loves you. And those mistakes or sins have already been taken care of. You stand up, dust off your clothes, and continue living in your Father's house. It is your house. You are his!

There are things we shouldn't do. Some are clearly spelled out. You know, those based on the seven big ones: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and sloth. Some things are a little more gray like: drinking, smoking, movie ratings, and political bent to name just a few. The "big ones" are there for use to protect ourselves and we should do them because God loved us enough to tell us about them and help us break free from them. The grey ones . . . Well these I call convictions. If you feel God is tell you not to do one of these than you had better not. But you better not force those convictions on everyone else. Those things are between you and God. If you feel free to do on the grey ones my suggestion is two fold. Moderatation is the key. And consider others with those convictions. Don't gloat. Don't condescend. God doesn't love anyone more than anyone else.

One quick note for those of you who say, "Isn't that like fire insurance? I accept God's grace and then I can live life however I want." On the contrary . . . If we truly love God we will live in his grace and under his suggestions for living. We live that way because we trust he knows best. (He does . . . That's what makes him God.)

In conclusion, there is nothing we can do to break free from our selfish selves (a topic of perhaps another blog and another theme of Blue Like Jazz.) God has done the work for us to be break free and be freshly clean (which is the only way we can enter heaven and hang out with him for eternity.) We can't make God love us more than he does. So it only makes sense that we live life in freedom and not wear a yoke that binds us by rules.

I have rambled long enough (can I get an amen.) I will leave you with a Hillsong song called.

So You Would Come

Before the world began
You were on His mind
And every tear you cry
Is precious in His eyes
Because of His great love
He gave His only Son
Everything was doneS
o you would come

Nothing you can do
Could make Him love you more
And nothing that you've done
Could make Him close the door
Because of His great love
He gave His only Son
Everything was done
So you would come

Come to the Father
Though your gift is small
Broken hearts, broken lives
He will take them all
The power of the Word
The power of His blood
Everything was done
So you would come


Russell Fragar
1996 Hillsong Publishing (Admin. in U.S. & Canada by Integrity's Hosanna! Music)

Pix of me in Brno, Czech Republic

I am still figuring out these blogging features. I thought I would put in some pix of me while I was in Czech Republic in June (more news on that later.)

This is a cool alley way that we found. So I ruined it by standing in front of it :). Any who. Like I said . . . more news on all of that later.

JF