Chapter 8 ~ Puzzled by Grace

Confusion is a common experience when I read stories in the Bible.

For example...

Why did God kill Ananias and Saphira and let David live?

What was so important about using mud to heal one blind man and heal two others on just their statement of faith?

Why didn't God just smack every Pharisee that asked a stupid question?

Is there ever a place when "my ways" will ever get close to "your ways" God?

The list could go on, believe me, on and on. As a matter of fact, and confession, the longer I live, the more questions I have. I am in good company, or at least I think good company. Great thinkers like C.S. Lewis and Phillip Yancey question the deep things of God and asked questions. Billy Graham has expressed his own limited knowledge of God, yes, even the great Billy Graham. I am of the opinion (let me repeat OPINION) those without questions are rare and I suspect not honest enough to trust.

Let me give you an example, directly from the front page of the newspaper today. Once again, to my hearts disdain and utter disgust, another adult has been arrested for child molesting. A few weeks ago an adult brutally abused a baby and caused it's death. The details shared in the paper made me sick to my stomach.

I worked for 9 years with offenders in the jail system and I still struggle with how God could love a person who does such atrocious acts. But he does. And if your heart and stomach have an ache in them with the two examples I cited, then you have an idea of Jonah's struggle.

You see, it is easy to point fingers and miss that we are like many of the characters from scripture, just as weak, just as judgmental and just as much guilty of moving in different direction than God.

I don't use these words to shame or cause false guilt, only to ask that we look in the mirror and be honest, grace truly is easier to receive than to give.

What thoughts came to your mind as Andy wrote these words:

"So grace has two sides: It is something to be received. It is some to be extended. The two are connected, but one is generally easier than the other."

Then his invitation:

"As we continue our study together, especially when we dive into the New Testament encounters with Jesus, I encourage you to keep your graceless relationships in mind. It may even be helpful to joy down some names of initials in the margin of this page. I'm not suggesting you do anything. I just want you to carry those faces with you into the second half of our discussion. Why? Because it could be that God wants to take you further than Jonah ever went. God may want to so overwhelm you with the reality of his grace toward you that you find it almost impossible not to extend that same grace to the graceless relationships that just came to mind. Grace can be irresistible in that way."

I am already squirming. I just had a few names and faces come to mind. They are not that far removed from my current journey. It's hard. I don't want to let go. Mine may seem trivial if I shared them with you, but then yours may to me as well.

What I know from my times in the trenches with humans, no matter how really hard something is, if it's yours, it's always hard. So, as the old saying go, "what is hard is in the eye of the beholder." (well, I stole that idea from another popular phrase and personalized if for my own use.)

May God begin a work in your heart today, He is doing one in mine. And I've read this crazy book over 10 times!

Till next week...