Radical Grace

   You know, God never discovers or finds out anything.  And, nothing ever occurs to God. There are no secrets with God.  In His secret place, the place of His presence, there are no secrets.  Isn't that amazing!   Some folks seem to think things might have escaped His eye since He didn't strike them dead.  But, no, He knows it all.  And, He has chosen to accept us, love us and hold us with the power of His love in spite of all He knows about us.  That is radical grace!

   I know many will read such words as these and either not believe them or just dismiss them, not understanding.  But, they should know that when Jesus shed precious blood on that cross, God was propitiated (anger turned to mercy).  The original sin of original man, passed down to all of us, is forgiven.  Now, based on the value of that precious blood,  God knowing all that He knows, all that we have done, all the weaknesses we possess, now says to all who will, "Come on in". Even better He says "Just as you are - come on in"

   This is not merited grace.  This is unmerited grace.  Completely unearned, undeserved.  It was on day one and is the same the day we draw our last breathe and slip away from this life.  There was a Clint Brown song of a few years ago that said it so well, "a hopeless case, an empty space, if not for grace".  Driven by the guilt of religion, men struggle to believe that.  They want to clean up sufficiently, work hard enough, give up enough stuff to feel like finally they might be accepted.  No, no, no!  Still an empty space, a hopeless case if not for grace.   Grace has captured you my friend!  Yield to your captor.

    Grace did not just reach into the muck and mire and pluck you out.  It did that, but it surrounds us, keeps us, protects us, loves us and maybe even eventually cleans us up.  Grace even goes behind us and begins to erase our tracks.  It goes before us and makes straight the path and should we stumble, grace quickly pulls up and points the way to go on. Even when we waste so much of what we have been given in the pigpen of life, grace still says "Come home...let us make merry"!    Amazing grace?  The more you know, the more amazing it becomes.  Radical grace?  Yes, indeed!