What is Grace?

What is Grace?           March 11^th/12^th

Ephesians 2: 1-10

            Today our journey to Easter continues, as we prepare our lives for the beautiful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is a world-changing, eternity-changing moment that has the power to transform lives. As part of our journey, we’re taking the time to step back and look at some meaningful words and practices that help us experience the fullness of God. Today we’re asking the question, “What is grace?”

 You’ve probably heard the word grace before. Maybe it’s what you call the prayer you pray when you gather for meal times. Or maybe it’s the term you give a person who seems to glide through activities without missing a beat or taking a wrong step. But when it comes to faith, grace might be the most important word we ever learn. I would go so far to say that if one word should be etched into our hearts, or tattooed on your arm if you like tattoos, it would be grace. You wouldn’t be here without grace.

I’ve heard it said before, and I’ve probably even said it, that grace can be defined as God’s love for us, a love that we don’t deserve. And I really appreciate that, but I don’t think this definition captures the boldness and the chutzpa of its meaning. And I’m not really sure any definition could do justice to the word. Maybe pictures and stories are better. Watch this video.

Tell the story of Jim Cymbala, found this “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.”

Grace is probably the most beautiful word we have in our faith, and I think that’s why we latch on to it. But here’s the thing: grace is also a scandalous word. There’s nothing sanitary about grace. My wife recently shared with me an article about what it really means to be a Christian, and I was drawn to it because of the title- F Bombs and Bikinis. How can you ignore a story that begins with that title? The author had this to say: “You can’t sanitize grace. You can’t stuff it into a blue blazer and make it wear khakis. Grace is often messy and offensive.” Why is it messy and offensive? Because grace will show up in all the places we wouldn’t think to go and visit with all the people we wouldn’t think to visit. Jesus, the God of Grace, often finds us where we are, and sometimes we’re in pretty low places, aren’t we? Sometimes we’re in pretty bad places, so bad that we’ve convinced ourselves and even others that we are beyond God’s desire to chase us down and find us. But that’s the scandal of grace. Grace is God’s willingness to say, “I don’t care who you are, but I’ coming to find you. I don’t care what you’ve done, who you are or where you’ve been, ” I love you and want to have a relationship with you.

Just let that sink in for a moment. “I love you and want to have a relationship with you.” That’s the ultimate goal of grace. This love that you and I don’t deserve is given to us so we can find ourselves back home with God. To be reconciled to a God we thought could never love us because of that junk in our lives? That’s grace. To be made whole when we are so broken? That’s grace. To be found when we feel so lost? That’s grace. To be dead in our horrible choices, but to discover the existence a Savior named Jesus who is willing to die so that we can have life? And he’s knocking at the door long before we took notice? That’s grace.

In our tradition, there are three ways we often talk about grace. They aren’t different graces, but rather they are ways that help us see the work of God in our lives. The first way we talk about grace is called Prevenient Grace. That’s an old word that conveys this idea of something that paves the way, preparing the heart for response. Prevenient grace is our way of acknowledging that God has been at work in our lives long before we took notice (and still is!), but that work allows us to see the light for the first time. Romans 5:8 speaks to this: “But God proves his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God took a step towards you before you took a step towards God.

One way to think about this is to look back at the people and the moments that shaped the direction of your lives. I know you’ve had those moments when you say, “I think God was preparing me for this or getting me ready for that. Pastor Rob is one such person for me. I was a struggling college student living life the way I wanted and out of the blue my pastor called me up and asked if I’d go to Chicago with him for a conference. It just so happened that he was beginning to sense God’s plan for my life, even though I wasn’t ready to hear the same thing. God was beginning to work in me through Pastor Rob, but I didn’t fully recognize this until a few years later. That’s prevenient grace.

A second way we talk about grace is Justifying Grace, which is a realignment of our lives with God. James Harnish (A Disciple’s Path), a fellow pastor, uses the example of the justification icon on a Word document. When you justify your typing, the text is spread evenly throughout the page, and finds itself in perfect, right relationship with the margins. We need this grace because we get out of sync with God. Because of our sin, our relationship with God gets all out of whack and needs to be realigned. And God re-aligns us, or “justifies” us through the work of Jesus on the cross. We are made right with God because of Jesus. We can’t make ourselves right with God; only Jesus can do that for us. Jesus selflessly offers his own life (perfect and without sin) on behalf of our lives and, as Harnish writes, “The almost unbelievable good news tis that God, in an act of unearned, extravagant grace, meets us in the middle of the mess we’ve made, and by the self-giving love of Jesus on the cross, restores us to right relationship with himself.” When we receive this justifying grace, we call it conversion. We’ve been converted, or turned in a new direction with Jesus as our center. That’s the grace of God. “For it is by grace you have been saved,” says Paul. “Not by your works. Not by your good deeds, but by grace.” And that’s only the beginning.

The final way we talk about grace is Sanctifying Grace. Sanctifying grace is God’s way of saying, “I’m not going to leave you alone until you are wholly mine and perfect in love.” Remember the greatest commandment and the goal of holiness we discussed last week? To love God with everything and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That’s what we call “perfect love.” And God is going to relentlessly work in our lives, every day, so that we learn to love the way He loves. Sanctifying grace is also important because it reminds us that God is never done with us, nor is he done with others. It’s frustrating at times to see a lack of change in people, isn’t it? And I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say, “And I thought you were a Christian? Well, the truth is that we’re all on a journey and this journey will take a lifetime to become who God wants us to become. And there will be days when we fire on all spiritual cylinders and days where we look very little like the Christ who lives and reigns within us. It’s not an excuse for the way we live at times, but it is a good reminder that God’s grace often takes time to shape us and remake us. Conversion begins your journey with Christ; but it’s the sanctifying grace of God that messes with you every day so that you can live and love like Jesus. And who wouldn’t want that?

All of this is to say that grace needs to be the window through which we view life. I often hear people say they’ve found Jesus. But you know what? Jesus was never lost. It’s we who have been found and discovered by him! We could say that every person we bump into is the object of God’s grace, whether they know it or not. We are people (You, Me, Them) for whom God is searching, eager to find us so that we will follow. And when that light bulb goes on, it’s only by God’s grace.

I don’t think I can end this sermon with a quick mention of Amazing Grace. You know the song, but you might not know the story behind it. John Newton was an Anglican priest who became famous for several hymns he penned, but his life didn’t begin as a priest. As a teenager, Newton took the seas with his father, and spent the next decade of his life as a sailor, first with the Naval Service, then as an African slave trader. And he was brutal. Long forgetting the faith his mother taught him, Newton gained a wild and rebellious reputation. He was, in his own terms, “wretched,” and his life led to the suffering and disbelief of others. Yet one day, God began to wrestle with Newton’s heart. And little by little, John Newton recognized that God was delivering him out of deep trouble. Later in his life, once he put away his sailing days, Newton sat down and penned a song that told the story of his life- and ours: Amazing Grace. Later, after considering the horrible life he had lived and reflecting on God’s unexplainable love, John Newton came to the following (and the only) conclusion: “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.” Friends, by the grace of God you are NOT who used to be and you are NOT who you one day will be. But you ARE God’s, and by his grace, day in and day out, he is making you like him in love and goodness. Amen.