For some
reason “grace” has been on my mind heavily for the last few weeks. It’s been mentioned and written about the
last few days and the writings I’ve read and conversations I’ve heard have
actually got me doing some deep thinking.
Thinking about myself and what I’m doing, or rather, not doing.
This morning
I put on a CD by Jason Crabb and the first song on his self titled CD was Somebody Like Me. The first verse is about a drunk who walked
into a church and the congregation splits like the Red Sea. The people just looked at him and judged. No one helped him, no one spoke to him, and
no one put their arm around him to offer a prayer or friendly smile. The song goes on to say that the drunk wanted
to be on the streets rather than in church.
My heart began to sink into my stomach as I mentally saw this drunk guy
sitting on a pew, wanting to be anywhere else but in church. Where was grace?
As I climbed
into the truck to go to church this morning, I turned on the radio and a song
by Casting Crowns Jesus, Friend of
Sinners was playing. I sat there and
listened to the words”The world is on their way to You, but they're tripping
over me” and again, my heart sank. The
chorus says, “Oh Jesus, friend of sinners. Open our eyes to the world at the end of our
pointing fingers. Let our hearts be led
by mercy. Help us reach with open hearts
and open doors. Oh Jesus, friend of
sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours”. Again, where is grace?
I
get to church and Evangelist A.D. Spears tells us of a sermon he was going to
preach. The title was, The Sounds of
Grace. I thought to myself, that’s
it. I had to write about what I was feeling. If I didn’t I’d blow up.
Grace is defined by Webster as elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action. It’s pleasing or attractive quality or endowment. Grace is favor or goodwill, a manifestation of favor. In short, its mercy, clemency, a pardon but it’s an action that must be shown.
When
are we, as Christians, going to shut our mouths and start showing grace? When are we going to start reaching out to
those who are hurting, those who are lost, those who are confused and share
what was shared with us….GRACE.
I
must ask for forgiveness, because I haven’t shared the grace shared with
me. I haven’t shared my story of
salvation in a while. I haven’t shown
favor or goodwill by giving my time accordingly. I haven’t shown or shared forgiveness or
mercy appropriately. I haven’t shown or
shared pleasing or attractive qualities to those around me that may be
searching for something different, or rather, someone different.
How
can I expect God to share with me more of HIS grace, when I won’t share the
grace already shown to me?
As
Christians, we have an obligation and it’s not to talk smack about
someone that didn’t do “right”. Remember the
words to the song….”The world is on its way to You, but they’re tripping over
me”. Who are we going to help up? Will we share the grace that God shared with
us?
In
the song by Jason Crabb, Somebody Like Me,
the chorus says, “You’d think somebody would put their arm around him. You’d think somebody would hit a knee, pull
him in, say a prayer, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout right there. You’d think somebody would practice what they’re
preaching. Well I wonder who that
somebody could be? Probably somebody
like me”.
Going forward that somebody will be me. I want to make a difference in "somebodys” life. I don’t want to be the one who thinks someone
else will do it. I don’t want anyone
else to do it. I want to be the “somebody”
to that “someone” who needs grace shown.
Will you? How can we show grace? Leave me your thoughts and suggestions.
Just
my thoughts on a page….
