that is the grace

Three minutes was all the time it took. Three minutes and my heart was tenderly broken by these words. Three minutes and I was gently reminded of the grace under which I stand. Even though the words of this video can stand alone, I was urged to write them out. One . . . by . . . one. Letting them sink a little deeper. I wanted to make my heart remember this because it is far to incredible to be so quickly dismissed.

- The script from the video above, by Matt Chandler  -

Our default position as strugglers is to believe that God is disappointed and frustrated.

That He simply is tolerating us.

The apostle Paul in Ephesians one says, no, no, no. . . before the foundation of the earth was laid He was going to adopt you, make you holy and blameless in His sight. So, whether difficult days or good days, God’s at work, God has not abandoned you in this difficult season.

HOW AMAZING DOES THAT MAKE OUR GOD?

That in our hypocrisy He is long suffering with us? In our inability to live out all that He would call us to, He continues to lavish upon us His grace?

In Him we have redemption through His blood; the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight. 

I love this word lavish: extravagant . . . plentiful . . . over the top. And so now, when the Bible’s talking about forgiveness it is saying that His grace in forgiveness is lavished.

His grace in forgiveness is lavished.

As though it’s too much. It’s ridiculous, a ridiculous amount. It’s over the top. It’s out of control.

Man or woman of God in Christ who is struggling, God does not regret saving you!

He doesn’t regret it!

You haven’t surprised Him, you cannot surprise Him. God is not watching where you are now, watching how you’ve struggled this week, watching how you stumble and fall and regretting the decision to pay the price for you in full. You have no sin, past, present, or future that has more power than the cross of Jesus Christ.

This means that your salvation wasn’t just a past event alone, but that Christ even now is continuing to save you. He didn’t forgive your past sins and now has left it up to you conquer present and future sins.

It means God can rescue! It means God can save!

And it means for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, you do not disgust Him. . . you do not disgust Him.

“Well, you don’t know what I struggle with and how deplorable it is.” Well, I know that Jesus would say that He paid the bill in full, and so what you’re saying is nonsense. That is the grace with which He lavished on us in His forgiveness.

THAT is the grace.

the words I write

Here I am surrounded by words. Every day I wake up and see a world brimming with beauty and there are so many little details that I want to capture and account for. There are so many things that are worth putting into words and yet time only allows me mere moments to narrate it all. 

I look around and in the ordinary I can see God’s love bursting out, His glory and His grace seem to have brushed against all of it. How can anyone say that this is not worth taking the time to put into words, not worth narrating?

It’s worth all of the time in the world!

There's a story unfolding before us, it’s being told through all of these details and we are apart of it. It’s a story filled with hope and daring faith, filled with courageous hearts and bold declarations. It’s the single greatest story and whether you realize it or not, you are moving along this riveting storyline with the rest of us. You are apart of it and have a definite role to play. 

The unfortunate thing is that at times the world can blind us from seeing the storyboard, it can cause us to forget that we were called by grace to step onto the scene.

There was a time when I couldn’t distinguish it, when I couldn’t distinguish the love and glory that was saturating the world around me. There was a time when I was blind to the small graces that were constantly being given. A time when this great story was unfamiliar and unknown. Yet, in the midst of bleakness I was pointed towards the Author, and that’s when His story was revealed. All grace, all mercy, and love were revealed in that moment and that’s when this story became known, became familiar, and finally became real to me.

How then will others know of this great story unless we tell them, how then will they take notice if we don’t show them.

And here is where my heart is at. I’m filled with wonder, captivated and in awe as I watch this story unfold. Today I can see it, it’s all there before me: His love, His grace, His glory. I see it. But my heart burns for others to see it too.

My heart wants others to see the beauty of a God that loves us with an unrelenting love.

My heart wants to pull others in with me, so that they can experience this awe, so they can know this story for themselves.

This is why I’m filled with such a passion to capture this beautiful story and put it into words, so that others might see too.

This is why I write.

Because there is so much worth taking the time to put into words; so much of His beauty that is continually being revealed.

Again, here I am, surrounded by words, but words that are not all my own. I’m privileged to be a pencil in the hands of a writing God who is writing to the world His story. These words are my best attempt at pointing back to the One who is behind them, to the One who is writing out this story and bringing His words to life.

These words are not about me. They are about what He is doing in me and through me. Ultimately it isn’t about what I write, it’s about the One who gives me the words to write.

It’s my hope and my aim that the words I do write show the value of the One who created them. That through these words His story is constantly being revealed and described. That through them you might see your part in all of this, your definite role in His story.

And so, I urge you to look around, look at the beauty that is saturating the world on every side. Take a moment and look, I promise you will begin to see it. In the details and splendor you will begin to see not just beauty and brilliance, but the face of a masterful artist, a marvelous God. Look, even for just a moment, look and you will see it too.

 

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. Psalm 45:1