This Autumn's theme
Philip Yancey, in his book ‘What’s so amazing about Grace’, describes grace as `the last best word' of the English language because it retains some of the glory of the original. It is the last grand theological word that has not spoiled. While the word ‘love’ can be used to describe a romantic
feeling as in ‘loved up’ or hunger as in ‘I would love a big Mac right now’, the word grace wherever it is used reminds us that good things come not from our own efforts but from the grace of God. We ‘say grace’ before meals, leave a gratuity in a restaurant. Parliament declares an ‘act of grace’ to pardon a criminal and students at Oxford university ‘receive a grace’ exempting them from certain academic requirements. These phrases contain some of the beauty of unexpected and undeserved goodness.
Grace is not easy to define, it is confusing and at times maddening. Grace is other-worldy because it has such little resonance in our culture of ungrace. But grace is also the central message of the Christian faith; it is God’s free gift in Jesus. Grace is the theme of this term. ‘Outrageous Grace’, in fact. Without toning down the offence or the magic we are going to be looking for the next 9 weeks at God’s outrageous grace for us and how we live it out.
When we have a real encounter with the grace of God it changes us. Having been loved like that; unconditionally and unreservedly it is hard then to see the world or others in the same way again. 1 John 4: 19 puts it like this “we love each other because he loved us first”. Grace takes the initiative and gives itself willingly and without restriction to everyone. Grace is unfair. It makes no distinction between the worthy and unworthy, the good and the bad.
..God dispenses gifts, not wages. None of us gets paid according to merit, for none of us comes close to satisfying God's requirements for a perfect life... In the bottom line realm of ungrace, some workers deserve more than others; in the realm of grace the word 'deserve' does not even apply. Philip Yancey 'What's so amazing about Grace'
This is what makes grace so outrageous. It is outside of rules and regulations, has no boundaries and cannot be contained and is even hard to figure out. Jesus told a parable in Matt 20 about an employer who goes looking for workers for his vineyard. He finds some who he employs to do a days work for an agreed fee. They start work early. At 9am he contracts in some more, then again at 12 and at 3pm and also at 5pm another load turn up. When 6pm rolled around it was time for dishing out the wages and he starts with the last ones first. He gives them the sum that he agreed with the first workers at the start of the day, and the same with the 12, 3 and 9 o’clock workers. The early birds are expecting that they will get paid considerably more than the late-comers and are affronted to find the boss paying them the all the same. How can that be fair?! Jesus explains; “Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money?”. God doesn’t give out blessings based on us or our performance. He does what he wants. And since he is love and seeks only to bless God acts in accordance with his character by giving us all the same thing; unmerited favour.
There is nothing we can do about it. God will love us all, always. There is nothing we can do to lessen or increase the intensity of his love. All we can do is accept his acceptance of us, laugh at any ideas we had of worthiness and sing and dance in the grace of God.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Ephesians 2: 8