Grace

I've sat through quite a few sermons in my life. Most of them were before I had a relationship with Christ, so they pretty much went in one ear and out the other. We were forced (pretty much the most accurate word I can think of) to go to church when we were growing up. We went every Sunday, and pretty much every Sunday consisted of the same routine. My mom telling us that we were going to church in 1 hour, and any combination of my father, my brother, and myself would complain and try to manipulate our way out of it. We were unsuccessful every week for 18 years, but that didn't stop us from trying. Our only optimistic outlook was knowing we would either have waffles or baking powder biscuits when we would get home from the service. It's honestly the only thing I remember about church. The food afterwards. And I also remember cages where the children were kept in nurseries. I might have made that up....but I'm pretty sure they existed.

In the last 8 months I have paid attention to the messages I hear. Not only do I not have to be forced to go to church, I usually listen to multiple messages a week. Podcasts are pretty much the greatest invention since the shake weight. It's crazy how something that once felt like a chore is now something I actually look forward to. Through these messages I have heard the word "grace" thrown around like it's coming from Tim Tebow's horrible throwing motion.

I went to a church where the phrase, "Lots of grace" was dished out about 5 times a sermon. In this case, grace was referred to as a hall pass for sin. We were taught that the definition of grace was in essence, "the ability to sin, but the knowledge that this sin was wiped clean by what Christ did for you on the cross." For the first 5 months after coming to Christ this is what I believed. Looking back now I realize how foolish that notion is. And I'm almost angered. This idea of grace being a "hall pass" for sin minimizes one of the most amazing gifts Christ gave us.

As I have continued to grow in Christ I have struggled to put into words what Grace really means. Struggled that is...until now. As I continue to read throw "The Kingdom Life," I came across a small section in the book entitled The Work of Grace. It is a one paragraph section, but it explains, in the simplest of ways, how to define grace, "Grace is God acting in our lives to accomplish what we can't accomplish on our own."

Read that a few times slowly. It's powerful. Grace is what allows us to stand before the Lord, and be formed into the image of Christ.

Using grace as an excuse to actively engage in sin is like calling a diamond just an average stone. It's cheap and it's offensive. Grace is what allows us to be pure before the Lord. Grace is what allows us to love our brothers and our sisters in the way Christ loved us. Grace is what allows us to disciple each other and grow in our understanding of the gospel.

Grace is a complicated idea for me. I still struggle to wrap my mind completely around the greatness of this gift. As I grow closer to the Lord I feel like I understand grace a little more, but for some reason it still feels slightly outside my grasp. But I also am aware of the power of this simple word. I know, that when the day comes where I stand before the Lord to face my judgement, the complete meaning of this word will be revealed to me. Because of grace, I will be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, for eternity.

Kate