Grace is defined as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ. Grace has been extended to man because as God's prized creation, He is favorable toward man. It is not something we earn, but something God in His sovereignty chooses to bestow upon us when we choose to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. The grace of God represents His kindness toward us. I have often heard grace described with the following acronym:
God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense
I feel Paul sums it up nicely in his letter to the church in Ephesus when he declares:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
What an honor it is to be saved from our sin, our selves and from the system of this world based solely upon God's willingness to offer grace to us. We cannot do anything that would ever make us worthy of this type of love and devotion given to us by God. Yet, He doesn't ask us to do anything to earn his grace.
But, what about growing in grace? Do we have a role to play in that? Does the grace of God that we receive at the time of salvation cover all things at all times with no requirements from us? To answer that let us read the next verse in Ephesians 2.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
We are God's workmanship - His creation. He fashioned us and formed us by His hand. He knows us intimately. He knows how He has made us to tick and to operate. We are each fearfully and wonderfully made. We are each unique.
And, we have been created by God FOR GOOD WORKS. This means we have been made by Him to be active, to accomplish great things and to live our lives with purpose. This can literally be understood as doing that which harmonizes with the order of society. I am not looking to get kooky or weird, but there is nothing as powerful and liberating as doing that for which you have been created to do.
Furthermore, it says that God prepared in advance or beforehand for you and I to walk in the good works for which He has created us. God has placed destiny in your heart and in your life and finding and realizing that destiny is one of the most valuable things any of us can do. The most fulfilled people are those who are fulfilling their God-given destiny.
So, what does this all mean together about growing in grace? Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior is a complete and total act of God's grace. We cannot do enough to earn, work up or purchase the grace of God. Yet, even in that, going forward we have a role to play in partnering with God to grow in the grace He has bestowed upon us.
I see, find and talk with so many who just want to sit on their stool of do-nothing (as my father-in-law would often say) and soak up God's grace. But, what is that actually doing? That is abusing God's grace and misrepresenting its purpose. Grace is God saving you from something and bringing you into something better. Even James says faith without works is dead. God's design for the church - the bride purchased by His grace through the blood of Christ - is that we be an agent for the "equipping of the saints for the work of ministry" (Ephesians 4:11).
Grace is not an escape from something. On the contrary, grace is an enabling and an empowering to fulfill God's purpose and accomplish much for Him. We grow in grace as we put God's grace to work in our lives. This means obedience. This means sacrifice. This means service to God and His people. This means commitment to God. Not growing in God's grace is no different than a 40-year old having his mother change his diapers and asking for permission to nurse. Please pardon the warped image, but you get the point.
I don't want to be one that abuses or takes for granted God's grace. I know I cannot earn His grace. However, I also don't want to be one that nullifies or misrepresents His grace. I want to be one that grows in grace - attaining to the "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11).
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
People, People, People
Warning: This is brutally honest.
Today I find myself thinking about this strange verse in the book of Proverbs:
Where no oxen are, the manger is clean. Proverb 14:4
It causes me to realize and remember something very important. When you have a gathering of animals you will have messes to deal with. Fair enough?
It also causes me to realize as a pastor that when you deal with people you will also have messes to deal with. And the reality is that people relations can be the most difficult thing in the world to navigate through.
There are two very important promises I will make about myself:
1. I will do my best to live at peace with all men, by speaking the truth in love, by giving and receiving correction and instruction, by working through messes in a timely fashion, and striving to hold short accounts and let things go.
2. I will blow it trying to fulfill #1.
Now that we have that out of the way . . .
I would love to say that I have mastered relationships and being a pastor, friend, family person, etc. But, that is simply not true. Very few things in life cause struggle quite like interpersonal relationships. Some things are inevitable.
-- Feelings will get hurt. Been on both sides of that.
-- Misunderstandings will happen. Too many to recount here in this blog.
-- Apologies only go as far as actions support.
Day in and day out dealings with people can turn hair gray or like me make it fall out. From a natural standpoint we are bent toward being people pleasers. From a spiritual standpoint we are created in the image of God who fully embodies love. Therefore, most of our relational lives are built between these two tensions. We want to please people while loving them as God does. I find more and more that THIS SIMPLY ISN'T POSSIBLE.
So, I boil it down to a few things that I am hearing God speak to me over and over concerning relationships. Here is my directive, plan and proposed commitment.
1. I will grow in loving myself so that I can fulfill God's call to love my neighbor as myself. My issues with and toward others stem from my issues with myself.
2. I will work to always speak the truth in love. When the pendulum swings too far either direction it is not beneficial to anyone.
3. I will not assume anything or tie anyone to their past. When you assume the worst about someone you will never bring out the best in them.
4. I will hold short accounts. There is no reason for me to continually revisit things I say are over. If I revisit I have obviously neither repented nor forgiven.
5. I will see the potential in everyone. Several people saw potential in me and everyone is deserving of someone believing in them.
6. I will not base my opinion about someone on what others say to me about them, but will take the time to get to know them for myself.
7. I will be willing to invest into the lives of anyone who will allow me that privilege, never taking for granted how precious that opportunity is, and never taking that person for granted.
8. I will celebrate victories with people and never become jealous or upset when those I have invested in surpass me in recognition, position, honor, etc.
9. I will allow others to correct me, hold me accountable, and tell me "NO." I do not need "YES" men surrounding me. I will welcome confrontation when I need it.
10. I will guard my tongue and watch my cutting sarcasm, knowing that there are passive aggressive tendencies in my life and at times behind my words.
None of these will be easy always. Yet, all of them are definitely necessary. I love people. I love relationships. And I value them enough to do my part to make them the best they can be.
Today I find myself thinking about this strange verse in the book of Proverbs:
Where no oxen are, the manger is clean. Proverb 14:4
It causes me to realize and remember something very important. When you have a gathering of animals you will have messes to deal with. Fair enough?
It also causes me to realize as a pastor that when you deal with people you will also have messes to deal with. And the reality is that people relations can be the most difficult thing in the world to navigate through.
There are two very important promises I will make about myself:
1. I will do my best to live at peace with all men, by speaking the truth in love, by giving and receiving correction and instruction, by working through messes in a timely fashion, and striving to hold short accounts and let things go.
2. I will blow it trying to fulfill #1.
Now that we have that out of the way . . .
I would love to say that I have mastered relationships and being a pastor, friend, family person, etc. But, that is simply not true. Very few things in life cause struggle quite like interpersonal relationships. Some things are inevitable.
-- Feelings will get hurt. Been on both sides of that.
-- Misunderstandings will happen. Too many to recount here in this blog.
-- Apologies only go as far as actions support.
Day in and day out dealings with people can turn hair gray or like me make it fall out. From a natural standpoint we are bent toward being people pleasers. From a spiritual standpoint we are created in the image of God who fully embodies love. Therefore, most of our relational lives are built between these two tensions. We want to please people while loving them as God does. I find more and more that THIS SIMPLY ISN'T POSSIBLE.
So, I boil it down to a few things that I am hearing God speak to me over and over concerning relationships. Here is my directive, plan and proposed commitment.
1. I will grow in loving myself so that I can fulfill God's call to love my neighbor as myself. My issues with and toward others stem from my issues with myself.
2. I will work to always speak the truth in love. When the pendulum swings too far either direction it is not beneficial to anyone.
3. I will not assume anything or tie anyone to their past. When you assume the worst about someone you will never bring out the best in them.
4. I will hold short accounts. There is no reason for me to continually revisit things I say are over. If I revisit I have obviously neither repented nor forgiven.
5. I will see the potential in everyone. Several people saw potential in me and everyone is deserving of someone believing in them.
6. I will not base my opinion about someone on what others say to me about them, but will take the time to get to know them for myself.
7. I will be willing to invest into the lives of anyone who will allow me that privilege, never taking for granted how precious that opportunity is, and never taking that person for granted.
8. I will celebrate victories with people and never become jealous or upset when those I have invested in surpass me in recognition, position, honor, etc.
9. I will allow others to correct me, hold me accountable, and tell me "NO." I do not need "YES" men surrounding me. I will welcome confrontation when I need it.
10. I will guard my tongue and watch my cutting sarcasm, knowing that there are passive aggressive tendencies in my life and at times behind my words.
None of these will be easy always. Yet, all of them are definitely necessary. I love people. I love relationships. And I value them enough to do my part to make them the best they can be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)