Expensive Grace
Grace is expensive. Struggling to accept it this morning because I could not accept getting away with sin so easily, I told God His grace was worth more than I take it for. And it hit me, really hit me, that it had cost Jesus His life. Just because it was freely given did not make it cheap.
This morning, thinking about grace, to my mind's eye there appeared a large, expensive jar of perfume. I saw God taking that jar and pouring it over a child of His--a murderer, an adulterer. But what poured out wasn't some fragrant, spicy liquid--it was blood. The man asked, both amazed and horrified, if there was no other way he could be clean. (His horror is not hard to comprehend--imagine a literal blood bath!) His mind spun at what God had done just to give him that much blood to make Him clean. If only blood could have saved your friend, would you have given every ounce of it? Consider this. You have one life, you choose to die worst way you'd like to die, bleed to death just to save a person you most love, but who's utterly screwed up his life. But he does not comprehend the gravity, or completeness of his salvation. He cannot see that he is a new man, he cannot see how he can break free from old patterns of thought, he does not realize that this blood has freed his heart to change its desires. He still thinks that every time he sins, he just has to come back for more blood later when he cannot tell the difference between staying clean and getting dirty again.
Brothers and sisters, how do we preach the gospel? For an invitation to a man to a new life means precisely that. It is more than unlimited free passes to temporary alleviation of guilt. When we call them to eternal life in abundance, do they know what they are being called to? What does it mean when we say, "clean, once and for all"? Do they understand what His grace means for being a new person--HOW His grace can get them there, free from old patterns of thought and the heart free to change its desires to desiring Him and nothing less? We are called to show what exactly we mean when we say Christ has made us new. It means in sharing the gospel we show HOW our salvation has changed the evil desires of our hearts.
| e.s.t.h.e.r in the arms of Jesus @
10/04/2006 08:30:00 am |
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