Indiscriminate Grace

But it was right to be glad and to have a feast; for this your brother,

who was dead, is living again; he had gone away and has come back.

Luke 15:32, BBE

The thing about grace that many have a problem with is its appearance of being carelessly and indiscriminately thrown around by our Heavenly Father as if there is no limit to it and He doesn’t care who has it. It just isn’t right by human standards. After all, fair is fair. Give people an inch and they’ll take a mile. Go soft on those who have sinned and the next thing you know everybody is doing it. People make their beds and they should lie in it. They need to learn their lesson. You’ve got to think about the message you’re sending!

All religions are built around the idea that good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds are punished. Many people have even distorted authentic Christianity into a religion that insists on a check and balance system revolving around reward and punishment. After all, isn’t that how life works?

To answer that question, it is how life that has been built around a judicial system of this world works, but it’s not how things works in the kingdom of God. As popular as that view might be, that isn’t how authentic Christianity looks. Law rules this temporal world but grace is the template by which God rules.

Grace is the thrilling (or horrifying to legalistic religionists) news that God isn’t into payback for the wrong things we’ve done. That isn’t to say that we may not still reap the consequences of wrong things we do, but the grace gospel does announce the good news that our Father isn’t in the business of balancing some kind of morality-ledger by punishing us when we’ve done something wrong. He’s not a divine bookkeeper trying to balance the books to make sure that the punishment doled out balances the misbehavior listed in a long column.

            The story of the way the Father treated his prodigal son should put that misunderstanding to rest. In the parable of the prodigal son we find a hyper religious zealot’s worst nightmare. Here, we can imagine this young boy in the youth group decides he wants to leave it all and move away. He asks His father to give him his inheritance (a subliminal insinuation that he has been thinking he’d be better off if his Dad was dead) and off he goes to the big city. His life soon becomes a blur of all things he had been warned against as a child.

            When all his money is gone and this young Jewish boy wakes up as a food-flinger in a pigpen, he is jolted back to reality. “I’m out of here,” he thinks to himself. “Even Dad’s minimum wage guys at home don’t have to live like this.”

            You know how the story ends. The moment comes when this scraggly looking, nasty smelling, son comes stumbling up the long driveway. His Dad sees him and immediately tears out running at full throttle. 

            The neighbors must have been horrified. First, it would have been a very undignified thing for a grown man to run like that. Proper protocol would have required that the father wait for the son to come to him, but that’s not what he did. He ran, and abandoning all dignity, he ran fast.

            To run toward his son also required a clothing adjustment. Like all fathers in that part of the world, this father wore long, flowing robes. In order to run, he had to pull the robes up between his legs, above his knees. As if running weren’t shameful enough, now the man is exposing a part of his naked leg for all who see. That was the height of shamefulness! A running old father! Partial nudity! What was the respectable neighborhood coming to now?

            This father didn’t care. He was, in essence, drawing the shame of his approaching son off the boy and taking it onto himself. The only thing that would shock the neighbors worse than the son’s behavior was the behavior of the father! The foolishness of the son dissipated under the father’s loving actions. Maybe that was the father’s point. Grace always is bigger than sin and people have always needed to learn that.

The father then falls on his boy and, oblivious to the stench of the pigpen on his son, starts laughing and crying, hugging and kissing him, all at the same time.  The son is forgiven before he even asks.

The boy chokes up and tries to talk. This isn’t what he had expected. He gets out half a sentence when Dad interrupts and yells orders to fire up the grill, call our family and friends, see if JJT is available (Jerusalem Jazz Trio) and let’s get this party started!           

Some surely must have thought, “That’s a strange story, Jesus. Don’t you think it might give the wrong message?

“No,” our loving Savior would answer. “It gives the right message. The message is this: It doesn’t matter how pathetic you are, how low you have gone and how long you have been there, I love you and accept you.”

The religionists of Jesus day were just as concerned about the implications of a story like this as they are in our day. There was the fear that it might sound like this sort of grace gives people a license to sin. There was the indignation that the story communicated that somebody got away with something. There was the assumption that this kind of grace might actually encourage, rather than discourage sinning.

Jesus didn’t seem to worry about all that when He told this story or in His ministry in general. He just loved people and poured out grace, grace, and more grace on the most unlikely candidates. It galls the self-righteous when their own sense of justice is violated, but Jesus never seemed to care about what they thought. He seemed to show such little discernment in how and to whom He gave so much. Even His stories seem to communicate a message that sounds downright wrong to religious ears.

            Is it possible that grace is counterintuitive to the religious mindset? I believe it is. Religion is about us and what we do to gain God’s favor and to make spiritual progress. It’s focuses on doing better to be better.

Grace takes a totally opposite approach. Grace assures us that isn’t about you and me and what we do to improve ourselves for God. It never has been and never will be. It’s about Him and His ridiculous, irrational, excessive, loving grace. The self-righteous crowd might as well calm down. Jesus is Jesus and He’s not going to change to fit their expectations or ours. Thank God.

You No Longer Belong To Evil

In Victor Hugo's Les Miserable, Jean Valjean spends the night in the home of the Bishop of Digne. Despite the generosity of the bishop towards him, Valjean rises during the night, and takes valuable silver from a cabinet. Hearing the noise, the bishop awakens and walks into the room where he sees Valjean stealing his belongings. Valjean knocks him to the ground and flees.

Later in the day, the police arrive at the rectory with Jean Valjean in handcuffs. "He claims that you gave him the silver," one policeman scoffs. "Yes, of course I gave him the silverware," replies the priest. "Valjean, why didn't you take the candlesticks too? They are worth at least two thousand francs." Turning to Madam Gilo, the bishop orders, "Go and fetch the candlesticks. And offer these men some wine. They must be thirsty."

Left alone together, the bishop holds Jean Valjean by the shoulders and looks deeply into his eyes. Valjean is confused. Speaking softly through restrained emotion, he asks, "Why are you doing this?"

The bishop answers with passion, "Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I've bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred and now I give you back to God." With tear filled eyes and an expression of disbelief Valjean stands before the priest, speechless.

Forgiveness. It is a troubling concept to the morality policemen of this world. In the calloused world of morality, meticulous records are kept which clearly reflect the debt one owes. But in the land of divine mercy, moral accounting is exiled to nothingness, the books are burned and record-keeping is declared taboo.

God has destroyed the record of your sins. It simply no longer exists. He has "canceled the certificate of debt that was against us" and has forgiven us for everything we owe. (Colossians 2:13-14) " There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

What are we to do when we have sinned? Simply acknowledge the love and forgiveness bestowed upon us by our High Priest. Accept it. You may feel better to wallow in guilt for a while, but to do that is an insult to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. To nurse self-centered guilt is to suggest that Christ bearing your sins isn't sufficient. It is a subtle effort to pose as deity by somehow sharing in the shame of sins committed. Christ dealt effectively with our sins. To try to take them upon ourselves is nothing short of idolatry by suggesting that what we do is necessary in addition to what He has already done.

            Have you done something in your life that gnaws at your conscience and causes you to feel guilty? Here’s the good news inherent in the gospel: Your sins have been forgiven. You owe God nothing for the things you have done. In Christ He has taken your sin upon Himself and eternally disposed of it.

            The announcement of the grace of God is the incredible news that you will never answer to God for what you have done. He wants you to accept His acceptance and to let go of the things that have brought you a sense of shame and tormenting regret.

The Bible doesn’t say God forgets our sins. What He has done is better than that. People sometimes talk about the “Sea of Forgetfulness” many have heard mentioned at times, but that phrase is not in the Bible. The idea was taken from Scripture and it is found in Micah 7:19 where it says: "He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." That’s probably where the idea of a “Sea of Forgetfulness” comes from, but note that’s not what the Bible says. It says He will separate our sins from us forever. He doesn’t forget but he does remember them no more. In other words, He will forever refuse to join our sins to us or our past guilt to Himself. He will not remember them! If He had only forgotten them, it’s possible they would come to mind again, but what He has promised is to remember them no more.

To illustrate the literal use of the word in a positive way, think about what Jesus said at the Last Supper to His disciples. When they partook the meal together, He told them, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25, emphasis added).

What did He mean by that? He meant, “As often as you partake of this communion meal in the future, do it in a way that you are appropriating the reality of your connection to me.” He wasn’t telling believers that when we take communion, we are to think in our minds and pretend that we are there watching His crucifixion. He is telling us to re-member, to affirm by faith that we are inseparably joined to Him and we affirm that reality again and again when we partake of the elements. Again, we are affirming and yes, even experiencing, our union with Him on the cross, in His burial and now in His resurrection life.

So our Father does not remember our sin anymore. Being omniscient means He knows everything so He hasn’t given up His omniscience and forgotten our sins. He simply refuses to ever “member them” to us or to Himself again.

God wants you to live without self-consciousness about anything you’ve done that was a dishonor to Him. He has taken the dishonor of your sin upon Himself and it is no longer yours to bear. To wallow in ongoing remorse about sin is to express the worst sort of insult toward the one who has removed your sins and forgiven you for having ever committed them in the first place.

            To paraphrase the words of the priest to Jean Valjean, Jesus has declared to you: “You no longer belong to evil. With my blood I've bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred and have given you back to God."

            Like Jean Valjean, you may stand speechless in total awe. The news of the gospel of grace may seem almost too good to be true, but believe it. Don’t express contempt for the crucifixion of Jesus by insisting on carrying the shame of sins you have committed.  Don’t despise what He has done for you by refusing to gladly accept the forgiveness He has given. Affirm the reality that your sins are gone, never to be mentioned again.

            Live in the joyful freedom that can only be known by those who have embraced their forgiveness. Don’t listen to even a whisper of self-condemnation that may try to find a place in your thoughts. Reject it immediately by thanking God that what He accomplished at the cross on your behalf is indeed sufficient.

Henri Nouwen - On Soul & Spirit

You are a spiritual being. You are a spirit. You possess a soul and live in a body.

Spirit Twins

Two babies are in uterus confined to the wall of their mother’s womb, and they are having a conversation. For the sake of clarity we’ll call these twins Soul and Spirit.
Spirit says to Soul, “I know you are going to find this difficult to accept, but I truly believe there is life after birth.”

Soul responds, “Don’t be ridiculous. Look around you. This is all there is. Why must you always be thinking about something beyond this reality? Accept your lot in life. Make yourself comfortable and forget about all this life-after-birth nonsense.”

Spirit quiets down for a while, but her inner voice won’t allow her to remain silent any longer. “Soul, now don’t get mad, but I have something else to say. I also believe that there is a Mother.”

“A Mother!” Soul guffaws. “How can you be so absurd? You’ve never seen a Mother. Why can’t you accept that this is all there is? The idea of a Mother is crazy. You are here alone with me. This is your reality. Now grab hold of that cord. Go into your corner and stop being so silly. Trust me, there is no Mother.”

Spirit reluctantly stops her conversation with Soul, but her restlessness soon gets the better of her. “Soul,” she implores, “please listen without rejecting

my idea. Somehow I think that those constant pressures we both feel, those movements that make us so uncomfortable at times, that continual repositioning and all of that closing in that seems to be taking place as we keep growing, is getting us ready for a place of glowing light, and we will experience it very soon.”

“Now I know you are absolutely insane,” replies Soul. “All you’ve ever known is darkness. You’ve never seen the light. How can you even contemplate such an idea? Those movements and pressures you feel are your reality. You are a distinct separate being. This is your journey and you’re on your own. Darkness and pressures and a closed-in feeling are what life is all about. You’ll have to fight it as long as you live. Now grab your cord and please stay still.

Spirit relaxes for a while, but finally she can contain herself no longer. “Soul, I have only one more thing to say, and then I’ll never bother you again.”

“Go ahead,” Soul responds impatiently.

“I believe all of these pressures and all of this discomfort is not only going to bring us to a new celestial light, but when we experience it, we are going to meet Mother face-to-face and know an ecstasy that is beyond anything we have ever experienced up until now.” 

“You really are crazy, Spirit. Now I’m truly convinced of it.”

Honoring Others

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

                                                                      Romans 12:10

            Most people see this world as a dog-eat-dog environment. That sort of cynical view has nurtured a cultural mindset that suggests that you had better look out for yourself because nobody else is going to do it for you. Many might be accused of getting to where they are by climbing on top of the backs of those they have exploited. Selfishness often seems to rule the day.

            As one who practices the grace walk, you have a wonderful opportunity to declare Jesus to other people simply by the way you treat them. Because of underlying feelings of insecurity, many people are hungry to be affirmed. Their hunger is your opportunity to show unconditional love.

            “Give preference to one another in honor,” the Bible says. One translation says, “Take delight in honoring each other” (NLT). Gracious words and deeds toward others are impregnated with the power of divine life.

            Who can you honor today? Affirm the inherent value of another person and you will discover that your words have the potential to transform a life. The One who raised a dead man from a tomb by speaking to Him also will speak to others through you. Speak love and life to those around you.

Being Broken To Be Made Whole

I remember seeing something on television when I was a child which illustrates how we often try to manage our own lives. Did you ever see “The Ed Sullivan Show”?  Even if you aren’t old enough to remember watching Ed Sullivan, you probably have seen this act in reruns. There was a man who took plates and long rods, measuring around ten feet in length. He would put a plate on the end of a rod and spin the plate with his hand. When he got the plate spinning, he would stand the rod straight up with the plate still spinning on top, high up in the air. He would then gently shake the rod in such a way as to keep the plate spinning on top.

He would then take another rod and plate and do exactly the same thing. Then he would take another. Then another and another. Eventually the man would have about a dozen rods with plates spinning on top all going at the same time. He would frantically run back and forth across the stage, shaking the rods and keeping the plates going. He could keep all of them going at the same time. It was amazing to watch.

That man’s act reminds me of a Christian who is enslaved to living in the wilderness of empty religion. Religion demands that we keep all our plates in the air. The plates represent the things of value from our own religious perspective which we believe that we must sustain. So the religious legalist spends his whole life running back and forth, “shaking his sticks” in an effort to manage his life. Surely none would argue that this is the life Christ died to give us! What a waste His death would have been.

Meanwhile, our loving Heavenly Father sees us wearing ourselves out with this performance we call “the Christian life.” Moved by compassion He determines to deliver us from the frenzied routine we have mistakenly thought of as “Christian living.” So he walks across the stage of life and starts knocking our plates off. One by one He causes them to fall, shattering at our feet.

It’s interesting to see how the body of Christ reacts to this plate breaking movement of God. I’ll bet you never read about that movement of God in Christian magazines. How would you like “The Breaking Revival” to come to your church? People’s lives would all start falling apart so that Christ could become their sufficiency. Different parts of the body of Christ respond to God’s breaking process in different ways. The Baptists conclude that they need to rededicate themselves to try harder to keep their plates in the air the next time. The Pentecostals begin to rebuke the demon of plate breaking. The charismatics lay hands on the plate and say, “In Jesus’ name, be healed!” The Presbyterians conclude that the plate must have been predestined to break from the foundation of the world. The Methodists form a committee for a year long study on the causes of plate breaking and to determine whether it was a sin for the plate to break or simply the inherent predisposition present in the plate since the day of its creation. The Salvation Army responds, “When you think about it, aren’t we all really broken plates?”  It isn’t my goal to offend Christians of every denomination. I hope you have a sense of humor and can see that what I want to point out is that while different parts of the body of Christ respond to our problems in different ways, we all have the same tendency. We fail to see that God may be the One who is causing our problems to come so that He can bring us to the place where we give up on our self-sufficiency and begin to totally trust in Him alone.

God wants to bring each of His children to brokenness, a condition which exists when we have given up all confidence in our own ability to manage life. Before we can cross over into Grace Land, we must come to the end of our self-sufficiency and recognize that we will never accomplish victory by our own strength. To try is nothing more than a religious performance and God loves us enough to spoil our performance if necessary.

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