I came home from work a little earlier than normal that day.
My wife had a popular afternoon talk show on the TV.
I noticed the host was interviewing yet another sad person, who, as I gathered was telling the world how she could not accept an offer of love.
She just was not worthy of it.
Neither could she accept herself, and had been in and our counseling for years.
I honestly, did not pay any more attention than that, because it has been my biased experience that all these daytime talk shows are the same.
They love to display someone personal pain to the entire world.
I guess we who are watching get some relief knowing there are others out there who are suffering too.
As I began to walk out of the room, my ears perked up like a German Shepherd, when I heard this dear person sob, "I couldn't accept the grace that he was being offered to me.
I felt like I was too far gone, and that somehow I needed to earn it, and I didn't know how to do that.
" The Host jumped right in there and added, "I know what you mean.
You just are not worthy of the love and there just is never any relief," as if she too needed to confess this exact experience.
I left the room, and quickly forgot the TV show.
That night as I lay in my bed trying to sleep, the pathos of that lady, and the host's words, echoed, and burned within my heart.
I wondered how many people are living with this horrible burden of guilt, and self-loathing.
I was sure there are millions who cannot find peace-grace-in their own lives, and I prayed for them.
I also offered a prayer of thanks for the origin of grace- Jesus the Christ.
You know, I don't care how much you hate Christians, the Church, and all the preachy sermons your parents may have made you sit through, the one thing that make Christianity stand out a mile taller than all other beliefs is the fact that it teaches that God has offered GRACE TO ALL! If we could understand nothing of the Bible, we need to understand this-that from cover to cover, its primary theme is grace to all humanity.
God wants a relationship with us-with every human being who has ever been born.
There is nothing more important to Him than that relationship.
If you and I believe that God is beating us up, for whatever reason, then we need to step back and take another look at God.
WHAT IS GRACE First, for those who want to know such things, the theological definition of grace comes from the Greek charis.
It is an attitude of God consisting of freely bestowed, pleasure, delight, and/or to be favorably regarded.
However, it may be easier for most of we use the commonly referred explanation of "God's unmerited favor.
" The second explanation is no less true, than the first.
However, what does either one mean? It simply means that you and I have a favor being offered to us even though we know we are as guilty and deserving of punishment (even to death) as-anyone has ever been.
We can be guilty of cheating, murder, lying, perversion, and every other disgusting thing humans do, and God says, "I'm willing to completely forgive you of those sins and have a relationship with you-and yes, for goodness sakes, we know they are sins.
Why would He do that? Because, YOU ARE LOVED as if you were the only person in the world.
God loves with a passion that no human can ever understand.
God loves you, is not simply a cute little saying, it is a fact.
While grace can be defined as God's unmerited favor, there is so much more to grace than a cold, uncomplicated statement.
Grace contains the personal touch of a living Being.
It encompasses forgiveness, but it also has to do with a relationship between two people.
A couple years back, I was at work, and someone came in and said to someone I was talking to, "Joe, someone just hit your car in the parking lot.
I think they are still there.
" We both went out to the lot, expecting to find an ugly, damaged vehicle.
When we got there, right in front of his vehicle sat a little Chevy Cobalt.
Inside the Chevy was an elderly lady, crying her eyes out.
Her window was down, and he said to her, "Did you hit my car?" She, through her tears said, "Yes, and I'm so sorry.
Please don't have me arrested.
I don't want to lose my license.
" We both looked at his car, and there was nothing there but a little nick no larger than one of the gravel marks that score all of our cars.
He winked at me and walked over to the lady still sitting there crying her eyes out and he asked her, "What should I do about this?" "I don't know?" she manager to blubber out.
He said "Well, if you give me give you a little kiss your cheek, do you think you can you can forget all about this and go home?" She sniffled, and said, "Ye - yes.
" He leaned in, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Try your best to be more careful, okay?" Then he said, "I love you, dear," and we both walked off.
Big deal, you say.
It was to her, and you know and I know, there are people who would have raked that little lady over the coals, but grace prevailed.
This is what grace is all about.
It is a romance with each other.
To know-to comprehend that God loves me so much He is willing for openly and freely forgive me when I come to Him and ask.
THE ARGUMENT I once knew a young married man, who confided in me that he had the chance to sleep with a co-worker.
Nothing serious he assured me, but this was too sweet to pass up.
Now, this young man was an officer within the local church, and one of those Christians who had to let the entire world know that he was a Christian headed for Heaven while the rest were all heathens headed for Hell.
You know that kind-right? I said to him, "You do know that this is a sin, don't you?" He said, "It's alright.
I'll confess it and God will forgive me of it, and all will be well.
" He honestly said that to me.
I'm aware that there are those who say that people like me who rest heavily on grace, are proclaiming a doctrine that allows people to sin freely and without any consequence.
They're wrong.
That is not what grace is all about.
First of all, those who have tasted the pure love of Christ's eternal grace, don't sit down and say "I will sin, and confess it.
Sin some more, and confess it, again, and all will be well between God and me.
" There is no love in that.
Love, for it to be effective, must be reciprocative.
A one-sided love affair goes nowhere.
THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD So, what happened to my friend? Did he have his little fling with the co-worker? Unfortunately, yes, and she demanded another, and another until she got pregnant.
Of course she wasn't positive if it was his baby or someone else's.
None the less, he lost his wife, home, and self respect.
What's my point? Grace from God is always extended, but it is not a permit to whatever we want without penalty.
More to the point, God will forgive a murderer, but they will still have to pay the penalty.
Do you understand? THE CONCLUSION No one earns grace.
To believe that you need to somehow buy God's grace is contrary to the entire concept of grace.
It is a gift, offered freely to all.
To believe that you are somehow unworthy of His grace-we all are-but that does not stop God from extending it.
Please listen to someone who knows-the greatest event in anyone's life is the moment they stop trying to do something to earn God's grace, and just allow it to wash over them, is amazing.
If you're struggling on how to do that contact the Author, and we'll talk.
If you have more questions or comments, let me know.