Have you ever listened to someone drone on and on about how great God is, and how God's grace is so amazing, only to wonder what in the world they're talking about? Have you ever listened to someone talk about how God's grace has changed their lives, and then wondered why it hasn't changed your life? Or maybe you're like me, and you find yourself wondering if you really need this thing called grace at all.
The whole notion of grace can soemtimes be confusing. What is grace? What does it look like? Can I taste it? Does it smell good? Well I don't think you can taste it, and I'm fairly certain it doesn't have much of a smell, but grace is good and the best thing about it, is it's FREE! You see, God is perfect without fault or blemish, and God wants everyone else to be the same way. But unfortunately people aren't perfect, and we often fall into error (sin). So God gave people the Law (read rules) as a guide for what they should and shouldn't do. People still made mistakes, they still fell into sin, and therefore were missing the mark of being perfect like God. In an effort to make a way for humanity to be without sin, God provided grace. This grace, according to our gospel lesson (John 1:14-18) came in the form of God's son Jesus. Grace essentially looks at the law, and a person who falls short of the law, and offers another way...a second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, etc) chance if you will. Grace forgives our mistakes, and encourages us to keep walking toward God seeking deeper and fuller relationship.
A great example of grace, and especially the idea of receiving "grace upon grace" (1:16), is the story of a walk I took several years ago. It was mother's day, and our family had gone out to lunch in Owego (roughly 15 miles from our home in Berkshire). After our meal, we had all gotten back in the car, and I had promptly gotten into a disagreement with my mother. Soon after the disagreement had begun, I decided I could no longer be in the same vehicle with her, so I opened the car door (while we were stopped a red light) and got out. I still remember my mother and my sister pleading with me to get back into the car, while my father was reaching behind him to close and lock the door!
They drove away, and I began the 15 mile walk home. At first I was angry with my mother, and blamed the entire situation on her. Somewhere around mile 5 or 6 I began to notice that my footwear wasn't really the best for walking (I had on a poorly fitting pair of boots). By the time I hit mile 7 or 8 I was in a great deal of pain from blisters that had appeared all over my feet. At this point I had moved beyond blaming my mother or my father, and had begun to blame myself for being so foolish as to get out of the car, for not having the foresight to wear more comfortable footwear, and mostly for fighting with my mother in the first place...on Mother's Day!
As I neared the town of Newark Valley (10 miles from where I had begun, but still 5 miles from where I was going), I was in a lot of pain, and it had begun to grow dark. Now I was faced with a decision, should I continue walking and hope that I hit a second wind, should I begin to hitch hike and hope I got a ride, or should I break down and call home to plead for a ride. I debated this for nearly a mile, before I finally decided to swallow any pride that was left, and call home. To my great relief, my mother answered (I was sure if my father did, he would have just as quickly hung up on me) and she agreed to pick me up. When she arrived, I was glad to see her and also ashamed that I had ruined her day, and then couldn't even walk the rest of the way home. I apologized, and begged for her forgiveness. To her credit, not only did she forgive me, but the next day it was as if the incident had never happened. She truly forgave me, and did not hold the offense against me.
This story is an example of "grace upon grace". It wasn't just that I got into a fight with my mom, but that I did it on Mother's Day, and then that I ruined the rest of the day by getting out of the car, and then called her to come rescue me (from a situation entirely created by my own foolish pride). At this point I want to be clear, that grace, while bringing complete and total forgiveness for our sins, in no way means that we can sin without consequence. In my story I mentioned blisters and great pain while walking home. Even though I was almost immediately forgiven by my mother, I had to suffer with the consequences of my actions, those blisters, for nearly a week after!
And yet, just as in my story, God too is ready and willing to come and rescue us from ourselves. God does not want us to be punished, to live in fear or in shame. God wants to forgive us, God wants to offer that free grace to each and every one of us, but we have to ask for it. Many of us are still on that road, walking home, either thinking we can do it on our own, or too afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid, don't be stubborn. God offers us grace to help us, to forgive us, to ultimately draw us closer to Him and to one another. Stop walking and make that call. Ask for the grace that will be freely given.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
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