Ever seen someone recognized who didn't deserve it? Does that ever grate on me!
Like doing a group project in school and the teacher highlights the one student who contributed the least to the project! Inside I just want to scream, "Wait! This is so not fair!"
But it's funny, in the spiritual realm where God's strength is made evident through weakness we can sure experience this too, can't we?
And what a gift it is each time we do!
This morning in my quiet time I was reading in Luke 7:36-50. A pharisee has invited Jesus to dinner, but he's not the only one who shows up! From the moment he comes in a "woman of the city, who was a sinner" brings an alabaster jar of ointment and "standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment."
The Pharisee immediately starts criticizing - oh not out loud! He wouldn't want to be rude! But Jesus knows what he's saying to himself and tells him the story of two debtors who experience their debts being cancelled and asks, "Now which of them will love him the most?"
When reading this I always identify with the woman. I know Jesus has forgiven me much - that's why I love him so much!
But today God opened my eyes to see how much I am like the pharisee. Especially when He blesses those I don't think deserve it. I love it when I experience God's grace - Him lavishing His riches on me through Christ when I don't deserve it at all. But it sure can bother me when I see him do this for others. Especially when it occurs in an arena where I've been "working hard" and they haven't - yet they find favor... or are promoted... or receive special gifts...!
And God gently pointed out, "Don't you see Deb, whenever this happens it's a gift to you. It helps you identify gaps of grace in your perspective. Whenever you feel like your hard work has earned something, you resent others being given favor. But the truth is can you do anything apart from me? What if I bless those who don't deserve it not only for their benefit, but yours too? To humble you and keep growing you in grace?!"
The woman in the story was totally focused on Jesus and left blessed. She knew how great her debt was! She knew she didn't deserve what He did for her. And she loved Him because of it. But the pharisees missed out!
And I realize when I think its my performance that counts, that earns me favor or position or provision, I miss out on experiencing more of Jesus - seeing in action how He is full of grace!
It's so easy to read the story and judge the pharisees and not realize I do the same thing. And when I do, I miss out on the beauty of grace - that not even God's provision is tied to performance nor people finding favor. What a great reminder these situations are - even though they do prick my pride.
Small wonder You select the weakest - even Gideon who starts out threshing wheat in a wine press - to accomplish your purposes so it's clear it's You and not us who makes things happen - so You get the glory!
That poor women enjoyed such a beautiful encounter with You - experiencing Your kindness, protection, acceptance, forgiveness and affirmation. She left rich! But in the same situation, with the same opportunity, those pharisees so missed out! May my eyes be fixed on you like hers were.
And may I begin to recognize that indignation is a signal I've wandered from adoring and appreciating you, that I've wandered from grace.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Without grace...
It began as a dream job. Though I was only twenty-five, I aced the interview. A previous employer highly recommended me. My future boss, who knew my previous boss, was so impressed she offered me top dollar to come work for her. For the first month we worked together well.
But one day she received a call from a frantic grad student whose dissertation draft was missing. This occurred years before personal computers became popular and it was her only copy. Just a few days prior my boss asked me to send it to her and I did. But after receiving the call my boss stormed into my office. “Did you mail that package?!”
Of course I did. But there was no proof.
From that moment my boss’ attitude toward me changed. Suspicion reigned. Was I really doing what she asked? She began to cross-examine everything. Under such scrutiny I became a nervous wreck . It was only a matter of time until I made a mistake and when I did it was the final nail in the coffin. This woman who’d valued me so highly upon hire, became convinced I was worthless and did nothing right. I plummeted from blessed to oppressed in a single day!
A week later, I called the grad student to apologize explaining we still couldn’t locate the draft of her dissertation. “Oh, it came the next day,” she shared, “I just forgot to call.”
By this time that made no difference to my boss. No matter how many things I did right, she didn’t trust me. In fact, she despised me.
And it just dawned on me… do you know what made that job so horrendous? There was no grace! I was highly valued when my boss approved my performance, esteemed while I was earning her favor. But the moment she thought I’d made a mistake she lost all regard for me!
What’s even more astonishing is realizing the impact that lack of grace had on me. It changed me.
I began to dread going to work each day. As I dragged my feet, I started arriving late and made even more mistakes. My heart was no longer in the job. I was trapped in a downward spiral becoming who she thought I was!
Recovering from that damage took years!
It’s sobering to consider how a lack of grace can serve as such a powerful agent of change in someone’s life... for the worse!
What destruction do I leave in my wake when I relate without grace?
Small wonder Peter concludes his second letter to believers encouraging them to “grow in grace.” (2 Peter 3:18) Reflecting on this certainly motivates me to do so even more!
But one day she received a call from a frantic grad student whose dissertation draft was missing. This occurred years before personal computers became popular and it was her only copy. Just a few days prior my boss asked me to send it to her and I did. But after receiving the call my boss stormed into my office. “Did you mail that package?!”
Of course I did. But there was no proof.
From that moment my boss’ attitude toward me changed. Suspicion reigned. Was I really doing what she asked? She began to cross-examine everything. Under such scrutiny I became a nervous wreck . It was only a matter of time until I made a mistake and when I did it was the final nail in the coffin. This woman who’d valued me so highly upon hire, became convinced I was worthless and did nothing right. I plummeted from blessed to oppressed in a single day!
A week later, I called the grad student to apologize explaining we still couldn’t locate the draft of her dissertation. “Oh, it came the next day,” she shared, “I just forgot to call.”
By this time that made no difference to my boss. No matter how many things I did right, she didn’t trust me. In fact, she despised me.
And it just dawned on me… do you know what made that job so horrendous? There was no grace! I was highly valued when my boss approved my performance, esteemed while I was earning her favor. But the moment she thought I’d made a mistake she lost all regard for me!
What’s even more astonishing is realizing the impact that lack of grace had on me. It changed me.
I began to dread going to work each day. As I dragged my feet, I started arriving late and made even more mistakes. My heart was no longer in the job. I was trapped in a downward spiral becoming who she thought I was!
Recovering from that damage took years!
It’s sobering to consider how a lack of grace can serve as such a powerful agent of change in someone’s life... for the worse!
What destruction do I leave in my wake when I relate without grace?
Small wonder Peter concludes his second letter to believers encouraging them to “grow in grace.” (2 Peter 3:18) Reflecting on this certainly motivates me to do so even more!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Accept one another, then...
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Romans 15:7
Amazing to think that I can bring praise to God just by accepting another person as Christ accepts me! How does this happen? How can this be?
What does it mean to "accept" someone?
Now what the NIV translates as "accept" the ESV translates as "welcome" and the KJV says "receive." The Greek word literally means "to receive to oneself, admit to one's society and fellowship, receive and treat with kindness."
When I think of the word welcome, two thoughts come to mind. One is excitedly opening the door to let in a dear friend you are eager to see. Another is smiling with gritted teeth, saying "won't you please come in" while you hope futilely they won't. What makes the difference? The way I perceive who is standing in front of me and what the time will be like - which can depend on them or on me. If it's easy, I'm all for it!
In general, I love people. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. So when do I not give an eager welcome? When I'm tired, busy or have past experiences with them that weren't so great. So basically I like to welcome people I've had good experiences with, but not those I haven't. Why? Because usually that results in a comfortable, enjoyable time.
Who do I dread meeting the most? Those who are highly needy with no sense of boundaries! Why? Because it's hard for me to say no and to handle those types of people. Those are the ones I groan inwardly even when I do open that front door.
So how can accepting them bring praise to God?!!!
I've got to get this down before I'm going to want to open the door, let alone be eager about it!
I think I better back up and first consider, what does it mean to bring praise to God?
Note that this word in the KJV is translated "glory." It comes from the word dokeo which means to think or recognize. God's glory is who He really is and to give glory to him is to recognize who He really is. (ok this is really simplified, for a better understanding go to Spiros Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary p. 478-481 and you can read four pages covering this one word!)
So how can my accepting others the way Christ accepted me bring glory to God?
By helping me as well as others recognize who God truly is.
So consider... how does Christ accept me?
It cost Jesus dearly to accept me. Pain, suffering, sacrifice. It was not easy. While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. He saved me "not because of righteous deeds I had done but because of his mercy..." He died for me while I was his enemy.
Not even for Jesus was acceptance an easy thing! Wow! That's pretty sobering to remember. So why should I expect it to be easy? And feel justified in not doing it when it's not?!
Now here's the kicker - when I accept others I have the opportunity to discover how incredibly hard it is to do this, and that gives me opportunity to catch a tiny glimpse of what it cost Jesus to do this. As I recognize what a monumental task this is I can better appreciate not only what it cost Him to do this for me and with me, but also who He is to be able to do something so incredible as this for all believers all through time! Wow! What an amazing God!
But if I only accept those who are easy and enjoyable to be with when they are kind to me and when it's convenient to me, I am totally going to miss out on recognizing this aspect of who God is.
I've heard it said the harder something is the more clearly you can see God's hand in it! :0) Which would then imply those people who are most difficult for me to "accept" or truly receive with joy - well, those are my best opportunities for discovering as well as displaying who God really is - and the tremendous difference He's making in my life!
In The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Spiros Zodhiates writes, "The predominate meaning of the noun doxa in Scripture is recognition. It may denote form, aspect, or that appearance of a person or thing which catches the eye, attracts attention, or commands recognition." (p.479) Whenever we see someone bless someone who really deserves to be yelled at or shunned, does it ever attract our attention. Whenever we see someone be kind to someone who has really hurt them, does that ever catch our eye!
When I fail to do this, I live out the truth of Romans 3:23 falling short of the glory of God - I'm not being what God intended me to be. I lack his character and fail to image Him.
Which is exactly why it was so costly for Jesus to accept me! But thank God He did!
Ok I'm convinced and off to answer the door... and I actually have a willing heart, eager to see what I'll learn through this! That in itself is a miracle!
Thank you Lord!
Amazing to think that I can bring praise to God just by accepting another person as Christ accepts me! How does this happen? How can this be?
What does it mean to "accept" someone?
Now what the NIV translates as "accept" the ESV translates as "welcome" and the KJV says "receive." The Greek word literally means "to receive to oneself, admit to one's society and fellowship, receive and treat with kindness."
When I think of the word welcome, two thoughts come to mind. One is excitedly opening the door to let in a dear friend you are eager to see. Another is smiling with gritted teeth, saying "won't you please come in" while you hope futilely they won't. What makes the difference? The way I perceive who is standing in front of me and what the time will be like - which can depend on them or on me. If it's easy, I'm all for it!
In general, I love people. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. So when do I not give an eager welcome? When I'm tired, busy or have past experiences with them that weren't so great. So basically I like to welcome people I've had good experiences with, but not those I haven't. Why? Because usually that results in a comfortable, enjoyable time.
Who do I dread meeting the most? Those who are highly needy with no sense of boundaries! Why? Because it's hard for me to say no and to handle those types of people. Those are the ones I groan inwardly even when I do open that front door.
So how can accepting them bring praise to God?!!!
I've got to get this down before I'm going to want to open the door, let alone be eager about it!
I think I better back up and first consider, what does it mean to bring praise to God?
Note that this word in the KJV is translated "glory." It comes from the word dokeo which means to think or recognize. God's glory is who He really is and to give glory to him is to recognize who He really is. (ok this is really simplified, for a better understanding go to Spiros Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary p. 478-481 and you can read four pages covering this one word!)
So how can my accepting others the way Christ accepted me bring glory to God?
By helping me as well as others recognize who God truly is.
So consider... how does Christ accept me?
It cost Jesus dearly to accept me. Pain, suffering, sacrifice. It was not easy. While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. He saved me "not because of righteous deeds I had done but because of his mercy..." He died for me while I was his enemy.
Not even for Jesus was acceptance an easy thing! Wow! That's pretty sobering to remember. So why should I expect it to be easy? And feel justified in not doing it when it's not?!
Now here's the kicker - when I accept others I have the opportunity to discover how incredibly hard it is to do this, and that gives me opportunity to catch a tiny glimpse of what it cost Jesus to do this. As I recognize what a monumental task this is I can better appreciate not only what it cost Him to do this for me and with me, but also who He is to be able to do something so incredible as this for all believers all through time! Wow! What an amazing God!
But if I only accept those who are easy and enjoyable to be with when they are kind to me and when it's convenient to me, I am totally going to miss out on recognizing this aspect of who God is.
I've heard it said the harder something is the more clearly you can see God's hand in it! :0) Which would then imply those people who are most difficult for me to "accept" or truly receive with joy - well, those are my best opportunities for discovering as well as displaying who God really is - and the tremendous difference He's making in my life!
In The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Spiros Zodhiates writes, "The predominate meaning of the noun doxa in Scripture is recognition. It may denote form, aspect, or that appearance of a person or thing which catches the eye, attracts attention, or commands recognition." (p.479) Whenever we see someone bless someone who really deserves to be yelled at or shunned, does it ever attract our attention. Whenever we see someone be kind to someone who has really hurt them, does that ever catch our eye!
When I fail to do this, I live out the truth of Romans 3:23 falling short of the glory of God - I'm not being what God intended me to be. I lack his character and fail to image Him.
Which is exactly why it was so costly for Jesus to accept me! But thank God He did!
Ok I'm convinced and off to answer the door... and I actually have a willing heart, eager to see what I'll learn through this! That in itself is a miracle!
Thank you Lord!
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