From April 2015 Bethel Bell Tower newsletter
For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
~ Romans 3:22-26
If you spend 5 minutes in a Lutheran church, it should be abundantly clear that we take grace very seriously. Grace is one of those words bandied about, but, when pressed, many people have trouble defining it. So, at Bethel we have adopted shorthand language for some of these church-y words. We say “grace is love beyond what we deserve.” With this definition, you can start seeing grace all over the place. Think about any of your relationships without the presence of grace. I’m guessing you’ll find that any real relationship you have involves some form of grace; the more significant the relationship, the more you’ll see grace involved. Grace is also humbling. I could write to you that my relationship with my daughter involves my ability to extend grace to her. That, as she goes through her teenaged years and pushes and stomps on boundaries, that, even though I get frustrated with her, I exercise grace toward her – I love her beyond what she deserves. But that keeps me in the good-guy, power position, doesn’t it? Relationships are built on mutuality. So, how about those times when I overreact or when I get all stressy or when I’m in a bad mood, and she shows grace to me – she loves me more than I deserve?
Grace is amazing … and I don’t say that just to be cute and refer to the hymn “Amazing Grace.” It truly is. It’s amazing when a daughter, a wife, a friend, a congregation or a stranger can extend grace to me, and it is humbling to graciously receive it. This month, as we celebrate Easter, we also celebrate amazing grace. The grace God shows us – the love that God has for us that is way beyond what we deserve.
In keeping with our Building Bethel theme, which, as I’ve mentioned previously, is about building us up as God’s people as we grow in faith and as we grow in community, I add “grace” to our practices of Building Bethel. We’ve already talked about noticing (see February article) and about praying (see March article). If you follow this progression, noticing helps us simply to notice the people around us throughout the day … all of the people around us. As you specifically notice people, you become more aware of them and you may find that you become curious about them. Why is that lady putting makeup on while driving in traffic on I-66? Why is that child walking with their head down and not looking at anyone in the eye? Why is that man walking about so angrily? Then praying helps us to take noticing to the next level and we lift that person up to God in prayer whether we know them or not. I find that these two practices together help me to slow down and step out of myself, my life and my concerns. They help me to be less judge-y and become more compassionate.
Are there ways you can further your own living out of God’s grace? Are there ways you can notice, pray and show grace to someone else? Are there places in your life where you need to be more open to receiving grace?
If you haven’t been reading these articles or you haven’t been doing anything with them, that’s ok. Spend a week or two just doing one of the previous practices. If you would like to share, I would love to hear your stories of simply noticing people, praying for them, showing grace, and how this builds you and builds Bethel.
In Christ,
Pastor Jeff
Epicurious Lutheran 