Radical Grace

Let's just stay with this whole grace-thing for a while. Just how radical is God's grace in Jesus the Christ? How foreign is complete, over-the-edge grace in our lives?

You work and study hard to make good grades. That's important, but that's not grace.

You practice and perform to earn a spot on the team. That's not grace.

You do your job well and you get paid and promoted accordingly. That's not grace.

You put your best foot forward to win the heart of someone you love. That's not grace.

Back in the day, you attend Sunday School regularly and you get a Sunday School attendance pin. That's not grace.

I'm not saying that any of these efforts are bad; quite the opposite. They're just not experiences of grace - receiving something that is completely unearned, undeserved, and unanticipated. So much of our existence is bathed in some kind of reciprocity that is not radical grace. How many people in churches have really embraced grace in Christ? Have we reduced Christian faith to a behavioral code because we don't really buy into the fact that we have no hope at all apart from the intervention of a grace-filled God? Looking throughout human history, it seems to be that the people who throw themselves into a relationship with Jesus with the most joy, commitment, and passion are those who realize that only God's grace can rescue them from the pit.

What do you think? Do we who are Jesus-following congregations really offer the grace of Jesus? I mean the forgive-the-thief-on-the-cross and save-Saul-even-though-he-kills-Christians grace...do we really buy into this, much less draw people to it?

Test it. If you're worshipping somewhere tomorrow, take a simple gift with you - maybe some bottled water or something. Walk up to someone you don't know or haven't seen in a while, give the gift, and walk away. Don't wait for praise, and don't offer any explanation other than, "I just wanted to give you this gift." How do we do in giving and receiving grace?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.