God’s Grace

Recently we had a scare (as of this blog yet unresolved) with respect to our 5 year old daughter, Chloe.  I don’t know what God’s plan is, but I am certain He has one. So we pray for grace.

Chloe’s middle name is “Grace”, you know! As God would have it, she has been our greatest lesson for experiencing God’s grace. Grace is not some trivial generality or abstraction that God spreads indiscriminately to everyone. God’s grace shows up in personal ways, unique to every believer’s context. And so it has been with us.  God has been in the middle of Chloe’s life from day one, healing, growing, keeping and loving. Nothing abstract or general about God’s hands on approach with His children. For me God has spoken peace quietly into my heart as I have jumped to every anxious thought. Nothing abstract about God’s peace speaking.

God’s grace, in the end, is strength more than it is “unmerited favor”. It is the fuel that keeps us running the race… the protein, Gatorade. It is the means to live a full Life-filled life. I have an unbelieving/lost friend with whom I shared Chloe’s troubles. This was yesterday. My friend has seen me live Jesus out for 3 years. I have shared my faith, my story and love for Jesus for these years. But, for now this effort has been seed on rocky ground. Yesterday he said, “Jesse, I know you believe in God and everything, but for all your effort look at what is happening to your daughter. Bad things are happening to you despite your belief”. His idea is why give God your life when there is no real payoff? You are having hard times like everyone else! And, of course, this is true: rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous all the same. But (and he would not understand this) the unrighteous don’t have a deeply embedded source of strength to endure. There is no Comforter, no Way, no Life when death is present. When you are in the Valley of the Shadows, without God you enter blindly and without comfort. My friend will never understand this Grace, and it makes me sad.

God for me is not so much an answer for my troubles, neither is He an escape from trials. In many ways, he is quite the opposite. Jesus is the strength through the trials, all the while lovingly guiding me throughout the journey. That is God’s Grace.

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