A Thin Line Of Grace

Grace is tricky. Not intentionally, of course. But, I think, we make it more difficult than it has to be. Grace, for those unclear on the concept, is made most clear by Paul: “When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.” (Romans 4:4-5) The modern explanation goes something like this: God cannot be in the presence of sin. We, as inherently sinful beings, cannot therefore be in the presence of God unless we are made righteous, or sinless, in His eyes. The only way that happens is through the death and resurrection of Christ. Righteousness is, therefore, not something we can earn, but is a gift given to us by way of the cross.

Here’s where we often trip ourselves up. Because we are now seen as sinless in the eyes of God, we can feel as if we have free reign. After all, if we’re covered by grace, then we can do anything we want without fear of divine retribution, right? Well, yes and no.

Technically, that’s correct. For those who have a relationship with Christ and have the Spirit living in them, grace covers our sin, past, present and future. However, our choices still have consequences for which we will be held accountable.

Apparently, this is not a new struggle. The folks in Corinth, back in the day, felt entitled to what Paul terms “sexual immorality.” He writes, “You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’ – but not everything is good for you. And even though ‘I am allowed to do anything,’ I must not become a slave to anything.” (I Corinthians 10:23) Wisdom has to play a part in our behavior as followers of Christ.

Fortunately, there are guidelines for us to follow relating to us and to others. First, for the benefit of our own hearts: in teaching on lust & adultery, Jesus said, “So if your eyes – even your good eye – causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) A graphic image, to be sure. But a sound principle. If something is causing you to sin, then it needs to be removed from your life. For some, that might mean throwing out some magazines or DVD’s, filtering or eliminating the internet, cutting up credit cards, emptying liquor bottles into the sink . . . whatever is causing us to sin by mere existence and proximity, it needs to vanish.

Then, for the hearts of others, there’s this: “So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.” (Romans 14:13) This can be a harder one to gauge. For some people, this may mean not having a beer during a football game, even though you may really want one. For others, it may mean being a little more discerning with clothing selections. It could even mean not giving the one finger salute during rush hour, even if that jerk did cut you off.

So, yes, technically, grace does cover a multitude of sins. That doesn’t mean we’re entitled to go on committing them. Desire must give way to wisdom if we are to live our lives well. It’s a fine line, but it’s one worth defining.

Dangerous Prayer . . .

On the whole, we pray pretty safe prayers. On the one hand, we can pray fairly innocuous prayers, such as saying grace before meals or vague requests such as, “God, be with Bob today.” These prayers really don’t require a lot of faith on our part, mainly because, most of the time, we’re not actually communicating anything of substance. I’m not saying these prayers are wrong. I just think that, on some level, God may want us to be a little bolder, a little more forward thinking.

On the other side of the fence, there are those prayers that we can be fairly certain won’t turn out that way we’d really want them to. These would include prayers like: God, let me pick the winning lottery numbers this week; Lord, let me find a Porsche in the driveway in the morning; God, let Anne Hathaway realize she’s madly in love with me. These prayers are pretty ridiculous in scope, and we usually know as we pray them that it just ain’t going to happen (though I’m still holding out hope for that Anne Hathaway thing).

Then there are those who dare to pray the dangerous prayers; the ones that require more on our part than just uttering some words in the general direction of Heaven. These require a heavy dose of faith, as well as some investment on our part. I’ve started to borrow one that David wrote in Psalms. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

That’s a pretty bold prayer. Think about it this way; when you go to the doctor for a physical exam, you want the doc to be pretty thorough, even if it involves some discomfort. Why? If there’s something wrong with you, you want it discovered so that you can take the measures necessary to be healed. David wanted the same thorough exam for his heart, so that he could grow stronger and become more and more the man after God’s own heart that he was meant to be.

This is my desire as well. I want so much to live up to what I was designed for, to realize the potential that was placed in me since before I was born. I want to be known as a man after God’s own heart, too. Growing into that description requires lots of examination and a form of spiritual surgery. Not comfortable, not preferable, but it’s absolutely necessary.

So, I offer a challenge. Take David’s prayer as your own. It’s not an easy prayer, because, when God answers it, you’ll have some work to do. But, on the other side of it all, you’ll be better off for having done it.