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| Share Agape for the week of October 13, 2003 |
| Truly Amazing Grace "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ� For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:4-9 Whenever you see a Christian who's quick to condemn others (because they worship differently, or have fallen from the path, or�whatever), you see a Christian who's not receiving God's grace. Because if they were receiving God's grace, they'd be giving out his grace, too. It isn't that God isn't offering them grace, mind you. It's that they haven't learned to accept that grace from him. In the Bible, the apostle Paul writes about how the Colossians were not receiving God's grace. Instead, they were very busy worrying about what they ate, how they dressed, that they fasted properly, that they didn't touch "unclean" things...Paul reminded them that such habits don't create wisdom or spirituality. Indeed, by trying so hard to do every little thing perfectly, the Colossians were forgetting one very important thing: Humans can never be perfect. That's why we need God's grace. So trying to be perfect is not only counter-productive--it actually means we're rejecting God's gift to us. The funny thing is that if we don't accept grace for ourselves, we very rarely pass it on to others. Yet God commands us to pass his grace around; that's what that whole "judge not lest ye be judged" thing is all about. It's kind of a Catch-22: If we can't give grace to others, then God can't (try as he might) give it to us, and if we don't accept God's gift of grace for ourselves, we can't extend grace to others. Worst of all, if we feel guilty about anything--anything at all--that lingering guilt grows up as a tangled, gnarling hedge between us and God. God did not intend for guilt to grow or linger. Guilt is a good thing only when it brings us back to God, to confess our sins and ask forgiveness. Lingering guilt is Satan working in our lives. Lingering guilt is a prison. It infiltrates every aspect of our lives, and affects the way we treat our spouse, our family and friends, the way we shop, the way we dress�you name it. As Christians, hopefully we all know what to do with guilt: Give it to Christ. However, knowing that and actually doing that can be two different things. Maybe you think you took things a bit too far--your sins are too atrocious to forgive. Or maybe you just feel guilty for asking for forgiveness. But you know what? God doesn't care. You don't have to earn his forgiveness. (You can't earn his forgiveness! It's a gift, not something you earn.) There is nothing--literally nothing--that you can do that is "unforgivable" in God's eyes. In fact, if Usama Ben Laden turned to the Lord today and asked him for forgiveness and salvation, God would grant it to him! If Hitler had turned to the Lord, God would have forgiven and accepted him. The same is true for Charles Manson and the Boston Strangler and� God loves them all and wants to hand them grace. And so it is with you, too. In fact, the trick is usually forgiving yourself. But ask yourself, if God has already forgotten your mistakes, why do you still allow them to bump around in your brain? The first step toward releasing that guilt is to confess everything to God. Then, acknowledge the gift of his grace. Your prayer might go something like this: "Lord, I know I've failed to do what is right all the time; I'm guilty of many things, including [name specifics here]. Lord, I know you can wipe out the record of all of my sins right now. I know Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And so I ask you to wipe out my sins now. I'm struggling with forgiving myself, Lord, and I ask you to work in me to fix that. Let me fully comprehend your amazing grace." I once read that "from the hand of God we get what we get--not what we deserve." As Christians, we can never afford to forget that people are saved not because they're good, or because they manage to rarely sin, but because of God's truly amazing grace. This week's recommendation is a news article that reveals the startling fact that "week after week roughly five times as many people go to church as attend movies." Meet Jonathan Bock, a Hollywood publicist who has helped bring such movies as "A Walk To Remember" and the "Lord of the Rings" to light: http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/2003/10/08/ MORE ~~> |
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