Truth and Grace

Have I blogged about this before? I don’t know. Maybe I have. I’m not good with details... not even the details that come out of my own brain. I forget. Remembering. Now I know I have blogged about that before. But here we go. Back to truth and grace.

When I moved to Oakhurst 3 years ago...... You know you live in a weird place when everyone you know can tell you how long they lived here. It’s like some weird countdown we are all making so we have a frame of reference. Personally, I think it’s a contest to see who can remain sane the longest living in this quirky mountain town. Back again, to my schizophrenic blog. When I moved here, I had a heart-to-heart discussion with my mother-in-law. She can be really good for that sort of thing. Virginia, if you are reading, I love you!

Me: I feel like God is teaching me about truth and grace and I wrestle with them. I feel like I have to choose between them somehow. They both vie for my attention and I can’t seem to figure out on whose side I fall.

Mother-in-law: Aren’t they the same thing?

Whoa. Leave it to the wisdom of the wise to send you reeling for 3 years trying to figure out if she’s right.

Another mother-in-law favorite: God is the perfect parent and look how His kids turned out!

But I’ll try not to digress anymore. Truth and grace. Bedfellows? Anyone?

This is what I know, or at least what I think I know.

Truth is found in God’s Word alone. Christians, for the most part, acknowledge that. If you want to get technical, Sola Scriptura (by scripture alone) is the infant of the Protestant Reformation and isn’t as old as we like to pretend that is. But again, for the most part, Truth is God’s and He communicates truth from His Word, the Bible.

Grace. Christians, generally speaking, cling to the Old Rugged Cross while using more infants of the Protestant Reformation to make the point. Sola Fide (by faith alone) or Sola Gratia (by grace alone). We don’t deserve the free pass to Heaven that we get when we come to Christ. That’s grace. Otherwise known as “unmerited favor” in evangelical circles. True theologians, however, understand that grace came before the Cross. Noah received grace. So did Abraham. The list goes on. God has been giving free passes since the dawn of time.

Okay. So where does one go with this, assuming I am right that truth and grace are twin sisters?

They don’t stand alone. They can’t. They aren’t just twin sisters they are conjoined twins! That’s what my mother-in-law meant! They DIE if they are separated because they share a heart!

Think about it. Truth lacking grace is condemnation. Grace lacking truth is chaos. Neither are safe places to live. They are bedfellows. They are syncretic. (Did I use that word correctly? Catey? You reading my blog or getting ready for graduation?)

So what happens in our lives when we err on EITHER side?

We are not safe people when we don’t tell the truth or live the truth. We are not safe people because we condemn ourselves or others. We are not safe people when we bask in the favoritism of God because we inevitably shirk responsibility or take on everyone else’s. We are not safe people because we create chaos.

WE are not safe people because we become KILLERS. We separate 2 things that are meant to live together. When we err on either side, we kill the heart of God.

1 John says: Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Both.

Search me oh God...and give me your heart.

All Things New

My Super D Duper friend over at Adoptyuen, blogged recently about the Sabbath. Interesting. Old ways. Even when we think we “get it” we often don’t. Not for very long. Real change is really hard. One of my favorite all time sayings, and if you’ve known me very long you’ve heard me say it more than once: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

Why! Oh, why!.... Do we think doing the same thing over and over will work? Especially Christians. We have the NEW Testament, the NEW Covenant, the promise we will be made NEW and yet, like the disciples, we go back. Back to pain. Back to sin. Back to old habits that destroy us instead of putting on the NEW self, created to be like God.

Why are we prone to wander, Lord? Why do we always want to go back to Egypt?

I’ve been in the book of James. Heavy stuff. Heavy stuff on faith and works. Faith without works is dead, you know?

But here is the wrinkle I see. That passage in James identifies 3-4 key evidences of faith at work. And... it’s not what you’d naturally think. In fact, I’m looking at works in a NEW way.

James says, “Feed the poor, clothe the needy and visit orphans and widows.” That’s easy. What’s harder to work out in my mind about works are the tales of Rahab and the Spies and the story of Abraham and Isaac. Faith at work can be a high risk undertaking. Faith at work goes against the grain. Faith at work is sometimes a private matter. Faith at work goes against common sense. By these examples, faith at work often appears to be sacrificial. Yet, in 1 Sam 15 God says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Whoa.

Rahab’s and Abraham’s examples of faith are NO LESS SIGNIFICANT than the obvious instruction about serving the needy. Yet, because certain acts of faith are intensely personal, more relational than tangible, we sometimes fail to identify them as acts of faith. From a desire to be obedient, we go looking for concrete good works to do. Truth be told, we want others to notice them, too. We don’t always go looking for the good works GOD prepared for us to do, either. Been there? Done that?

We sometimes get hung up on our own ideas of what a “good work” is. If you read Jill’s blog, you hear her tell the example of how the disciples did that. Good works that complete faith do not come from ourselves. Good works do not come from the letter of the law. Whatever you make of acts of faith, make sure they are also acts of obedience. I guess that’s the point.

Perhaps, if I could remember all God did in the wilderness outside of Egypt, I wouldn’t want to go back to doing things my way. If I could hold on to the bright hope for tomorrow with both hands, I’d listen to God’s unique instruction, trusting Him instead of leaning on my own understanding.

Is anyone tracking with me?

Maybe God isn’t interested in us doing the same old thing because he explicitly said, "Behold I make all things NEW." (Rev 21)

Leisure

W. H. Davies
Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time to stand beneath the boughs,

And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

Can you relate?