Finite Grace?

"Grace is not infinite." I instinctively recoiled at these heretical words, as I deemed them, yet on further consideration, I conceded that, depending on what kind of grace we're talking about, there may be truth in them. For me, as for most Christians, the word "grace" instantly brought to mind saving grace, God's gift of salvation through Jesus, or, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense." But that definition leaves out far too much. Perhaps a better definition of grace would be "something good that you don't deserve." Saving grace definitely falls under that, but it is not the only kind of grace, nor is grace strictly limited to being expressed by God.

Another kind of grace is what I might call general grace: the grace that all mankind receives, regardless of their relationship with God. Every living human being is sustained by God's hand. Air, light, food, water, DNA, an earth to live on . . . all of it is grace. God is in no way entitled to give us life or anything else, but He chooses to do so. Some will complain, "But so many people suffer for lack of those things -- God isn't fair." You're right, God isn't fair; He shouldn't give any of us anything at all since none of us deserve it. By definition, grace cannot be "withheld" since it isn't merited in the first place.

In context, the statement "grace is not infinite" actually referred specifically to yet another kind of grace, what I would term special grace. This is the sort of grace we typically pray for, that extra help for particular needs.  The shifting of circumstances, material abundance beyond our labor, unexplained strength of body or mind in a crucial moment . . . these are grace. Special grace is supernatural aid for a particular situation, and it rarely happens the same way twice. This is the sort of grace we most often try to "earn", forgetting that God is not impressed by our efforts to be deserving. True, He often gives rewards to His obedient children, but even these are grace, since we did nothing to earn the saving grace that originally brought us into His favor.

So then, is grace really infinite or not? In the case of saving grace, it is infinite in the sense that a child of God will never "fall from grace" once he is born into God's family. But saving grace is also unique in the sense that it must be asked for, in which case it may be said to be finite, though it is enough to cover all who come. How about general grace? Surely in this fallen world it cannot be infinite -- a quick glance over the ruins of sin will reveal many seemingly "God-forsaken" lands. Yet even in the middle of the Sahara life may be found. Though that might more likely fall under special grace! Special grace is easy to call finite: it is certainly not always available at our slightest wish.  Still, is not God infinitely powerful?

In the end, it is in a sense true that grace is not infinite. But God is. Grace is not God. God gives grace. Because it is part of His infinite nature, His supply of grace is endless, but the manifestation of it is carefully measured by His infinite knowledge and wisdom. Some of us act like we can wheedle grace out of God, but if we could, it would not be grace at all. Let us be thankful for the grace He chooses to give us, and strive to be like Him in giving grace to others!

Now to him who works, the wages are

not counted as grace but as debt.

Romans 4:4

Be With Him

And He said, "My Presence will go

with you, and I will give you rest."

Exodus 33:14

When Moses asked God for direction and proof of His grace, this was God's simple reply -- no answer to his urgent questions, just gentle, kind reassurance of His Presence.  He didn't tell him where to go, or when, or with whom, only that when he went, God would be right there.  I'm so often like Moses, arguing with God, "You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found grace in My sight.' . . . show me now your way . . . that I may find grace in Your sight."  (Ex. 33:12-13)  I know I belong to God, but I'm tempted to doubt His grace unless I know what He's doing, or I imagine that His grace depends on me knowing and doing what He wants.

I'm afraid we tend to see God as an Employer -- He's given us a job to do, and if we don't keep up He'll leave us behind.  And half the time we're not even sure what the job is, let alone how to keep up, so we throw a fit at God, "Just hurry up and tell me what I'm supposed to do!" so we can get on with it and feel good about our performance, maybe even earn His praise.  Pride and lack of trust, plain and simple.  God's invitation is not a "Now Hiring" sign.  He wants children and friends, not employees.  Yes, our Heavenly Father may expect us to do some chores, but that's not His main purpose with us.  Mostly, He just longs to be with us, starting now.  Let's stop getting so worked up about work, and rest in His Presence!

"Father, I want those you have given Me

to be with Me where I am . . ."

John 17:24

Dance!

“Life’s a dance” they say, and the parallel is quite fitting, as I’ve been reminded in my recent opportunities to participate in some English country dancing.  Besides being wonderful exercise, dance certainly tests one’s skill of mind, especially under pressure!  Learning the steps can make for plenty of amusing blunders, but once you’ve got it down, it’s a thrill to be part of perhaps a sizable crowd all moving together in time with the merry music.  Dancing is no idle game physically or mentally, and it also connects dramatically with our souls.  My grandma requested that we dance at her funeral, and for good reason: it’s very hard to dance and be sad at the same time!  Even in scripture, dancing is one of the highest expressions of joy and celebration – Miriam danced after the crossing of the Red Sea, the women danced after David killed Goliath, and David himself danced when the ark of God was brought to the city.  It’s a natural human reaction to overflowing joy – we just can’t keep still!

Dancing with others requires careful coordination and cooperation if it’s going to work smoothly.  So it is with life: we can’t make it work alone, and we can’t make it work well without doing our part and helping others do theirs.  As in an intricate dance, we each have a role to fulfill at the right time and place, and if we don’t step up when it is needed, the whole thing will go wrong.  It’s easy in life to imagine that we are not really needed, to stand by and watch while others take care of things.  Perhaps our part feels small and boring, like the corner position of a post jig.  But if we are not faithful with the role we happen to have, the people around us will suffer for it.  In the dance of life, we must work together!

And in order to work together, we must all be listening to the same directions.  One person may perform the steps of the Spanish waltz flawlessly, but if everyone else is dancing to a different tune, the result will be a complete failure.  So in life: we will run into each other with perhaps disastrous results if we are not all obediently under the direction of one dance Caller, God Himself.  He chooses the tune and the steps, and the results will be beautiful only if we pay close attention to His plan, and only His plan.  When we do, we will find success and thrilling joy.  God wants to have fun with us – the rules are not there to restrict us, but to guide us for the greatest enjoyment of His plan.  So dance!  Dance through life according to God’s perfect choreography, and whenever you get the chance, dance for joy on your own two feet!

Let them praise His name with the dance . . .

Psalm 149:3

Immortality

Humankind has always longed for immortality.  Legends and stories are full of the pursuit of it, and now, with today's technology, we still do everything we can to not die -- sometimes it seems that the goal of life is just to keep it going as long as possible.  Yet at the same time, immortality is seen as a thing to be feared -- we would have to admit that death is actually a mercy compared to living on forever in the world as it is going.  Yet still we refuse to resign ourselves to it.  We hate the thought of getting old, but what else do you think will happen if you don't die young?  Is there an answer?  Or are we doomed to go on searching for something we can't have and, come to think of it, don't really want?

I venture to suggest that the reason mankind can't stop thinking about immortality is because we are immortal.  And somewhere deep down, we all know it.  Whether we like it or not, we will continue to exist forever, and whether we will like it or not depends entirely on our choices in our "mortal" life (which is merely a prelude or "trial run" before the continuation of it).  Or should I say, our Choice -- either to trust God's plan of redemption from death through Jesus Christ, who defeated it on our behalf, and embrace the true life He offers, or to do the best we can to create our own artificial immortality and earn nothing but living death forever.  Yes, such an immortality we would do well to fear!  But the other promises glories beyond all we could imagine in a million years, because it will last far longer than that.  Is there any choice, really, when faced with these options?

What a difference it could make if we truly believed in our immortality!  Not only would we take seriously our own eternal well-being, but we would see others quite differently.  As C. S. Lewis says, "There are no ordinary people.  You have never talked to a mere mortal. . . . it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."  Would that thought affect the way we treat and relate to others?  It should.  What kind of immortality will you have, and will the people around you share it?

"Our Savior, Christ Jesus . . .

has destroyed death and has

brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel."

2 Timothy 1:10

2013: The Year of Hope

"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. His song in the tower had been defiance rather than hope; for then he was thinking of himself. Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master's, ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo's side, and putting away all fear, he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep."

~The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien

As this year wound down to mere days, I turned my mind to pondering what another year of life has taught me. At first, I could not come up with anything -- I felt I was in just the same place that I was at the close of last year. What word could sum up my year of trying, failing, and plodding on, contrasted on occasion with unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experiences? Then it came to me: Hope. Of course! The word has come to mind countless times this year in various contexts, and has picked me up over and over when failure and futility would knock me down. The great hope of Heaven has grown in me more than ever -- with so much endless beauty to look forward to, what is a little trouble now? Dead earthly hopes are a very small thing in a very short while hardly worthy of notice when I consider eternity, where every hope I've ever had will find its fulfillment. Not that all earthly hope must die -- I am here yet, and hope remains for many desires to find their place in this life.

To me, Tolkien's picture of Sam and the star that renewed his hope is a splendid portrayal of the concept. There is beauty that no evil, no matter how dark it seems, will ever touch, and that is where our hope must be. If our hope is only for our own present well-being, we may well grit our teeth and defy anything that dares come between us and our desire. But if our hope is set on something outside of us that will be there no matter what life brings us, then we can forget our little selves and no fear can trouble us. Look up! Do you see only a star above the clouds? Only a star! Bright and lovely though it be, it seems only a tiny thing in the darkness; yet it is really something vast and awesome beyond all you have ever known. So is our hope. Because of God's grace, there is truly much to live for, both in this life and beyond!

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

in You I trust, O my God. . . .

No one whose hope is in You

will ever be put to shame.

Psalm 25:1-3

The Outcast

For all the merriment and festivities, Christmas is a time of perhaps unequaled pain for many -- the bitterness of old memories, the sorrow of lost traditions, loneliness of another holiday without family and friends.   But was not even the first Christmas a time of turmoil, a story peopled with outcasts?  Mary surely lost her reputation, and nearly her fiancé, with the gossip of her pregnancy going around small-town Nazareth.  And what about Joseph -- what might people whisper behind his back when his bride turns up pregnant before the wedding?  What did their families think?  A trip to Bethlehem where no one would know the scandal was probably almost welcome, even if it was just another oppressive reminder that their nation was a slave of Rome.

And what of the Child?  Well, His loss on that first Christmas was greater than any of us will ever experience.  He left behind a perfect relationship with His Father in His perfect dwelling place, and came to a dingy, dark world where He was an inconvenience, a laughing-stock, without even a decent birthplace.  All His life, He was an outcast, misunderstood even by His family and closest friends.  And at the end they all abandoned Him to the most shameful death imaginable.  He understands bitter memories, sorrow, and loneliness.  And all out of love for us -- hurting outcast, turn to Him, the One who bore it all that you might share His joy.

He is despised and rejected by men,

a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . .

Surely He has borne our griefs,

and carried our sorrows.

Isaiah 53:3-4

Busy

Running in circles, too busy to think
So much to do, today's gone in a blink
This thing is urgent, it must happen now
I know You're important, but just tell me how
I can possibly quit all that's lined up to do
For even one hour of time just with You
What would she think, and what about him
If I suddenly stop being all that I've been
I'm committed to that and I've always done this
But somehow this stuff isn't bringing me bliss
I'm stubborn and selfish, I want it my way
I'm too scared to hear what You'd have to say
You might say I'll have to drop this and wait
Or You might tell me to love the people I hate
But I guess I should listen since You know what's best
And only with You will I fully have rest
Whatever I do and want is too small
If it steals me from Jesus, my Master, my All

Happy Thanksgiving!

. . . How can it be if it's not?  For thanksgiving only comes from being happy about something.  "But," you say, "thankfulness doesn't mean you have to be happy.  We're told to be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  How can you be happy about bad circumstances?"  Ah, but watch your prepositions -- it's in all circumstances, not about all circumstances.  Just two verses before, we are told to "rejoice always," and that includes bad times.  Now, joy is an emotion -- you can't work it up if you honestly don't believe you have anything to be joyful about.  Thankfulness is the same -- you must really have something to be thankful about.  You can't, and shouldn't, be happy about the hurts and problems of life.  They are the result of sin, and they don't make God happy either.  But even amidst trouble, we can still be thankful, that is, happy, about something, indeed, many things.  God loves us, and that in itself is enough to make us happy forever!

In the same way, lasting happiness only comes from thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is not a mere feeling, but an action born out of our recognition of good, and from that action comes the emotion of joy.  Even if life were perfect, without thanksgiving we would lose the enjoyment of it.  And since it's not, the only way we can be happy is to recognize our abundant blessings and give God the thanks for them that He deserves.  The natural and appropriate response to good things is thankfulness -- indeed, their purpose is to direct our attention to their Giver.  Failure to do so is disregarding His goodness.  Express it to Him -- a warm, fuzzy feeling of general gratitude is not enough.  What will you thank Him for today?

Yourself

“Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless?”

~Tom Bombadil to Frodo, The Lord of the Rings

As humans, we base much of our identity on our relationships. Consciously or not, the value of our lives is determined largely by the quality of our relationships – to be alone is the most dreaded evil. We introduce ourselves to others as “friend, sister, cousin, etc. of so-and-so”, and indeed our very existence is defined by what family we have come from and what group(s) of people we belong to. Rightly so, for we could not exist apart from them. But our souls, our selves, are descended from and ultimately dependent on no other human. Were all others stripped away and your whole life boiled down to nothing but your own self, what would be left?
 

What is the essence of your self, completely aside from the names others gave you, the reputation you have gained, your part in society? Is your soul an empty slate, made what it is only by the influence of the world around you? The answer, I suppose, would depend on one’s view of the existence of man – if an individual is simply a passing expression of the great organism called Mankind, then he can have little meaning beyond his role in connection with it. But if each individual is rather intended to be an expression of Something greater, and his identification with Mankind is first of all dependent on his relation to that Something, then each individual must have some significance of his own. Of course, I propose the latter.

Every soul possesses something unique, totally independent of the influence of other human beings. That great Something is the Image of God, bestowed on each of us (Genesis 1:26). Now, God is infinite, and He certainly did not entrust His infinity to us, so it follows that every soul has been given some different aspect of that infinite image to display. God fashions our hearts individually (Psalm 33:15), taking utmost care in the details of each one. Now, does this imply that we don't need other humans? Quite the contrary – since we each bear the image of God in a way that no one else can, it is our duty first to know and love Him, then to share His image with Mankind. And we can learn much from others who bear God's image in a way that we do not. It is only when our identity is not dependent on our relationships that we will truly find value in them.

Applied Thinking

Thinking has become a lost art.  In times past, there were people -- great scientists, composers, theologians, politicians -- who, it seems, spent their entire lives thinking, and today we enjoy the benefits of their minds' labors.  But in these times, to sit down in some quiet place and apply one's mind to a particular subject for even several minutes is excruciatingly difficult.  What has changed?

Is our generation (save a select few) just less capable of great thoughts than the men of old?  I say no, at least not by nature -- the greatest thinkers of years past only used a tiny percentage of their brains' capacity, and even if the human race has deteriorated in the last few hundred years, our brains still have capacity for even more than the musings of our ancestors.  Indeed, in our time, we have far more opportunities to learn and study than they had.  But on the whole, our advantages have crippled us.  In today's culture, computers, cell phones, or a few especially brainy people will think for us -- we don't have to, so we don't.  Our fast-paced lives don't give us time for it anyway.

Clearly, it will take work to rebuild a thriving mind.  But the ability to focus, understand, and think worthwhile thoughts is a reward well worth the training.  Thoughts matter, because they are the foundation of our lives.  So what can be done?  Here I pose a few suggestions, as much for myself as anyone (if you know me, you may hold me to it) -- for as the recent lack of life on my blog will testify, I myself too often succumb to apathy of the mind, a most frustrating ailment.

Start small.
Grab a colorful leaf and get to know its every detail.  Marvel at a spider's web.  Ponder the little things, for in them God has hidden great secrets.
Memorize.
A chapter of the Bible, a poem, a song . . . something you can think about all day and all night.  Know it intimately, at face value and beyond.
Read.
Take advantage of the thoughts of the great thinkers, even if you're not "a reader."  Pick up the train of thought where they left off, and keep going!
Be specific.
If you don't give it an assignment, your mind will wander off into trouble like a naughty child.  Choose a passion, a particular subject, and study it.
Take time.
Just do it -- think!  Meditate on one topic, no interruptions, for more than sixty seconds.  Be alert, and take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Share.
Talk about what's on your mind, big or small.  Write about it.  You have not learned something until you can teach it.  Think to impact other lives.

And I could go on.  It's just discipline, so simple, yet so hard to do.  We get bored far too easily, when there is so much truth to be explored.  God gave you a brain -- use it!  It must be exercised to be strong.  Let us strive for applied thinking, and applied thinking -- applying our minds to worthwhile thoughts, then applying those thoughts to our daily lives.

"As nothing is more easy than to think, so nothing is more difficult than to think well."
~Thomas Traherne