Mark here. As you can tell from this week's title, Miller focuses in on the concept of grace.
Miller talks about his days as a fundamentalist Christian in this way: "I used to get really ticked about preachers who talked too much about grace, because they tempted me to not be disciplined. I figured what people needed was a kick in the butt, and if I failed at godliness it was because those around me weren't trying hard enough. I believed if word got out about grace, the whole church was going to turn into a brothel."
What is grace? Does the Christian understanding of grace challenge the ability to live a righteous life? If so, why? If not, why do you think Miller and others would have had this concern?
What do you think is the hardest thing to understand about accepting God's grace? Is there a Scripture or teaching that has helped you in this area?
Miller says, "I love to give charity, but I don't want to be charity. This is why I have so much trouble with grace." How do you respond to this statement?
Miller's pastor says, "The ability to accept God's unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey Him in return." I think about the prophet Hosea. In his message to Israel, Hosea reveals the affect of our sin on God as well as the power of God's love and grace, all from God's perspective. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in Hosea 11.
The chapter starts with God saying, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me; ...".
God's anger grows as Israel's sin cuts Him deeper, as seen in verses 5-7: "They shall return to the land of Egypt ... because they have refused to return to me. The sword shall rage against their cities ... My people are bent on turning away from me; so they are appointed to the yoke, and none shall remove it."
And then, in verse 8, at the height of God's anger, He cries, "How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! ... My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, ... for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy."
What does Hosea's prophetic message reveal about God, His grace, and our righteousness?
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2 comments:
I understand completely where Miller is coming from in this chapter. So many people accept grace as a get out of jail free card. They can do what they want and repent later. But that is not what grace is. I think we can very often use grace as an excuse. Just as people use orginal sin as an excuse. The benchmark is high, unattainably high, but that doesn't mean we should give ourselves an out. Grace is great and we would all be in a lot of trouble without it, but I think it is a largely misunderstood idea.
I also get his thing about charity. I remember chaperoning a youth retreat several years ago. On the last night, we as the leaders washed the feet of our youth and prayed for them. It came so very naturally. I had no qualms about touching dirty feet or being a part of this act. And then all the leaders were called forward, and some of the youth came forward to wash our feet. Suddenly, I was uncomfortable. Why? I don't know. For some reason, I did not want someone else to perform this same act of love and service on me. I don't know if it was a feeling of unworthiness or what. I just know it felt very uncomfortable.
I agree with Jennifer about grace being a get into heaven free card. One of the biggest arguments against Christianity from the agnostic or atheistice world is that it is "too" easy. If you make a mistake, then ask for forgiveness, receive God's grace, and we are back in the positive. Is this what God intended for Christianity? I think the gift of grace given by God is a sign of God's eternal love for us - continuous, no matter what we might do as fallen humans. However, grace should also be a motivation for us - not just because we can receive it, but we are also called to give it. That is where we often times fall short.
I was thinking about Miller's comments about charity, and I am the same way. When we gather for staff meeting each week, one of the first things we do is to share prayer concerns for church members and pray for them. This is an important time for our staff and for our church. However, recently I have been having some health issues and I have been on this "list" that we pray for. For some reason, I would rather just move on and focus on all these others, instead of my needs. It makes me feel uncomfortable, almost that my problems aren't as important as these other church members' needs. I feel that I am not worthy. Miller's comments made me really think about that - am I worthy of God's grace? The answer of course is most definitely - God's grace is for everyone. So why is it so hard to accept it - are we trying to belittle ourselves value to God or are we belittling God's value to us. This is something I definitely need to work on...
Sorry about the ramble...
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