Grace Gives Life

It's funny how we think more about life when we consider death. There has been a bit more of death around us of late (esp. if we consider all of the past year) - a season if you will where several dear folks we know have died, as well as others.

Just yesterday a little girl - 5 years old - riding her bike was killed by accident on a dead-end street in a driveway. We didn't know her but the emotions inside are deep and real. They remind me of the loss of my own dear brother over 40 years ago. They remind me of wanting to reach out to a family I'm only slightly acquainted with who almost lost their then-5-yr-old in a similar situation. They remind me of a dearly beloved couple who lost their 6 yr old to cancer many years ago. And on and on. What does one do with these emotions?

Sometimes the deaths are ones long-awaited as in another death in our lives this past week of a dearly beloved gentleman from church who's battle with cancer lasted less than 2 years. He had lived a full life, and his love the for His God and Savior Jesus was palpable to the end. But while he truly has gone to a better place, his death is still very real. As our pastor likes to remind us, death is not as people like to say "part of life". It is the very antithesis of life. A quick read of the first few chapters of Genesis can and will clear up any confusion on that point. Death is the punishment - the consequences - the penalty - for sin.

Enter grace. Grace brings life. Real life. The kind that no one can take away. The kind that lasts for ever. All of us have sinned and deserve God's judgement - every single one of us. Only by grace - freely given by him to all he's chosen to give it to through faith in his son - can we live. And that grace changes both the life now and the life after death.

Romans 5:1-11: ¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Grace is the "portal" if you will - for reconciliation, for incredible growth, for joy, for peace, for so much good in our lives we can't even imagine it. The sufferings and difficulties of the life here on earth are fruitful and we have reason to hope - not only for the future but for the growth that is taking place at present. I get up in the morning with a reason to get out of bed. Even when I'm tired and looking at a tough day (or looking back at a tough evening). Even when I know there are difficulties to come or struggles I'm still in the midst of. I know where I've been and I know God will take me through what is to come. It's pretty incredible. I was lost and now I'm found. The emotions of loss are overwhelming when facing death, even that of a stranger, but life is everything I've hoped for and more.

So what do I do with these emotions? I go back to my God - I find sufficiency in his grace. It takes time, and it is never easy, but he is all I need and he promises he will never fail me. And I trust him. "Here they are," Lord, "you can have them." Messy, overwhelming, sad, at a loss, discouraged, and often even sinful and ill-founded or selfish or whatever. But they are real - and so is my God. He can handle it and he will work on completing his work of grace in me until he brings me home. And in the meantime, I will declare to anyone who will listen "It is well with my soul!"

A Mom's Love

I just read an article from our church's women's fellowship newsletter entitled "Thanks, Mom!". Today is Mother's Day so it seemed fitting to read it before heading to bed. Great read and all about a mom's love for her child (in this case daughter). Oh how gracious our moms are - I could fill volumes telling of my mom's grace for me. I was (am!) difficult and amazingly she still loves me after all that's happened between us (granted the years of no longer living under the same roof have helped).

Anyway, the article made a point of comparing a mom's love (very gracious!) with God's love expressed for his children, through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ - his amazing love far surpasses that of even our moms!. The article closed (more or less) with the following quote which totally floored me in its simplicity, and said it all; "My mom loves me because I am her daughter, but I am God's daughter because he loved me."