Tag: grace

The Morality of Caring

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

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Every individual person I meet is interesting.  Everyone has a story.  Each person has values which are important to them, and you can usually tell what a person treasures.  For example, my wife cares about kids.  Children are a high value to her.  You can tell immediately when meeting her that that’s true.  When engaging a family for the first time, she will inevitably talk to the child before addressing the parents.  Mary cares about any kind of issue in the world which has to do with children.  She has a strong sense of morality for all of them.  She loves kids.

Have you ever thought about what is of most importance to you?  What we care about most is where our sense of morality lies.  Jesus put it this way:

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

Perhaps you have discovered, like I have, that everyone is moralistic.  That is, each one of us live by a certain code of ethics.  There are morals which we will live and die by.  These are values we esteem above all others.

Although there are hundreds of laws in the Bible, the highest standard of ethics and morality is contained in just a few chapters of Holy Scripture: The Ten Words (Commandments) found in the Old Testament chapter of Exodus 20; and, Christ’s Sermon on the Mount found in the New Testament chapters of Matthew 5-7.  Furthermore, these few chapters can be distilled into a few short ethical phrases: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and, love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). In other words:

Every moral teaching found in Holy Scripture comes down to love (Mark 12:30-31)

Throughout the history of the church, the highest ethical values have always had to do with knowing and loving the Creator, Sovereign, triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit – and the majesty of his creatures, humanity, created in his image and likeness.  The imprint of that image is deep within us, even if marred or forgotten.

The movement and trajectory of Holy Scripture is a good and benevolent God making and keeping promises to his creatures.  Even when they fall and try to create small petty worlds of their own, a gracious God is active, wooing lost people back to himself.

The Bible is an unfolding drama of redemption in which a loving God goes far out of his way to bring back straying, hurting, helpless people. (Luke 15)

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Which is why, for me, attending to the inner person of the soul, teaching people the words and ways of Jesus, and providing spiritual care to others is a high value.  I love God, and I love people.  It’s easy to understand, then, why I: treasure times of retreat in which there is solitude and silence; connect with God daily in contemplative prayer and meditative Bible reading; pay attention to hurting people and seek to bring them grace, mercy, faith, hope, love, and gentleness; seek to act with civility and respect toward others I disagree with, or just don’t like very well; and, actively engage others who don’t share my values of faith in God, hope for healing and wholeness, and love for the common good of all people, no matter who they are.

I have a deep conviction that the care of the soul is just as important as the care of the body; that attention to exercising the mind with Holy Scripture is just as important to overall health and well-being as cardio workouts and sensible eating; and, that the ultimate hope of the world resides with knowing Jesus Christ, and not with a lesser hope that wishes things will work out in the end if I’m sincere to my personal ethical beliefs.

The rub to all of this is that I have my ideals and ethics, my morals and mores, my values and convictions, yet I don’t consistently live by them. *Sigh* I’m sure you relate.  The Apostle Paul certainly did:

“I don’t know what I’m doing, because I don’t do what I want to do. Instead, I do the thing that I hate…. I don’t do the good that I want to do, but I do the evil that I don’t want to do.  But if I do the very thing that I don’t want to do, then I’m not the one doing it anymore. Instead, it is sin that lives in me that is doing it.” (Romans 7:15-20)

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If honesty and being real is of high value to you, then you and I can admit that we blow it, a lot!  But we can come back to the love of God which is there waiting for us to confess our need and receive grace:

“I find that, as a rule, when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me…. It wages a war against the law of my mind and takes me prisoner with the law of sin that is in my body.  I’m a miserable human being. Who will deliver me from this dead corpse?

“Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:21-23)

It simply isn’t helpful to tell other people to “get over it.”  All people need deliverance from the power and presence of their inner (and outer) brokenness.  A person cannot remove destructive vice and heal their own soul any more than someone could remove their own cancerous tumor and heal themselves.  We all share the common human condition of needing the living healing water of Jesus Christ.

living-water

Which brings me back to God and the care of souls – being with Jesus has led me to grace and faith, hope and love, mercy and encouragement, forgiveness and reconciliation.  These are values for which I embrace and will not deviate from.  Even though I live them imperfectly, there is a perfect God who has my back.  He loves me, and He loves you.  I’m okay if that’s labeled as moralistic.

Grace is the Word

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
            One of my all-time favorite stories in the entire Bible is one that many people are not familiar with.  As far as I’m concerned, this story deserves to be up there as a hall-of-fame kind of story.  It is tucked away in the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel, almost as a parenthetical aside to the great victories and kingdom of David.  Within this one story we get to know the true heart of ministry, and the shape of what our Christian calling can look like in a world gone mad.
            David was at the pinnacle of his success.  For years, he roved all over the place hiding from King Saul.  David’s only crime was that he made the king jealous – envious enough for Saul to put out a hit on him.  Saul eventually was killed in battle, and David ascended the throne with a series of great military victories on every side of Israel.
            It is important to keep in mind that in the ancient world, kings who ascend the throne typically begin their reign by killing any-and-all potential rivals to the throne.  It was so common as to be expected.  So, if you are reading 2 Samuel 9 for the very first time and David begins by saying, “I wonder if any of Saul’s family are still alive,” you expect the hammer to come down.  David is going to secure his throne with eliminating Saul’s family.
            But David, in a twist that befits the heart of a man of God, gives his reason for wondering: “If they are, I will be kind to them, because I made a promise to Jonathan.”  Rather than find relatives of Saul to kill, David wanted to find family members, so that he could show kindness.
            This is how it is supposed to work in the kingdom of God, and in the Body of Christ – kindness to someone who does not deserve it.  Turns out Mephibosheth was still alive, and David graciously plucked him from his life as a disabled person and brought him to the palace to care for him.
            “Kindness” is a beautiful word.  It is translated as such from the Hebrew word “chesed.”Chesed [pronounced “hes-ed”] is God’s steadfast love, his infinite mercy, his loyal commitment to always watch over and care for his people.  And that is exactly what David did for Mephibosheth.
            Oftentimes, church leaders and parishioners wonder how to attract solid upper middle-class people.  Or, at least people who are much like themselves.  Those put-together-people would be able to help support the church, sustain the budget, and provide fresh volunteers for getting things done.  It is the standard operating procedure for many places.
            But what if we took a lesson from David and turned this on its head.  Instead, we scan the horizon and wonder if there are any broken people out there in our sphere of influence for whom we can show God’s steadfast love, mercy, grace, and kindness.  And then do it. Without forming a committee.
            David made a space at his table for Mephibosheth.  One practical way we can show grace is by opening our dinner table to another.  Anyone can do it.  My wife and I, back in our early years, didn’t even have a kitchen table.  But that didn’t stop us.  We invited people to share peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with us on the floor of our tiny apartment.
            We can create space and loving mercy at church by opening the Table to the spiritually disabled.  Broken and hurting people need the healing of communion with God and the Body of Christ more than anyone.  In some sense, this is all of us.  Everyone needs the healing which can result from participating in the Lord’s Supper.
            Like David, inquire about the people in your neighborhood and community.  The first step is to find out who they are.  Then, second, find a way to meet them.  And, third, just say “hi” to them.  Let an invitation to share food together arise organically and naturally, without being forced and having an agenda other than the curiosity to discover another person.

            This can be done at church, as well.  Scanning the building for lost and lonely people, you will see them if you look.  Walk across the room and engage them in a merciful conversation worthy of your spiritual ancestor, David.  Pay attention to how the Spirit leads, and follow.  Let us know how it goes.

 

            All of God’s Word is about God’s merciful wooing of wayward people back to himself.  The Lord specializes in unfocused, fuzzy lives; and, gives grace.  Truly, grace is the Word.

It’s About Grace

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

Grace

The world spins on the axis of grace, whether you are aware of it, or not; without God’s mercy, life as we know it would cease to exist.  The terrible blights in this world of devastating circumstances, destructive forces, severe depression, and even death do not have the final say over the earth – grace is the word that changes it all and transforms the impossible into the possible.

The large biblical book of Isaiah is thick with the message of judgment for both Israel and the nations that surrounded her.  The sins of the ancient Israelites were chiefly: a calloused injustice toward the needy, the have’s taking manipulative advantage of the have-not’s; and, empty worship rituals toward God that were nothing more than keeping up appearances.  The very air of ancient Israelite society stank with corruption.  God pleaded with the people through his prophets to stop doing wrong and to start doing right in their justice system and in their business dealings.  The Lord of the universe wanted his people to encourage the oppressed, and to defend the cause of those who did not have the power to defend themselves (Isaiah 1:10-17).

Although God’s judgment was aroused, ripe and ready to act through the powerful Assyrian Empire, God would not annihilate his people.  God promised that a Righteous Branch would grow up from the seemingly dead stump of Israel.  A child would be born.  A Messiah would be given.  There would be hope in Israel.  Heartfelt authentic praise will again fill the air.  Proclamation of God’s great name will again be on the lips of Israel.

The remarkable thing about all this is God’s grace.  God made promises to Israel not based upon what they would or would not do; God made promises to his people by his own radically free love.  It was not a situation of making a deal – “if, Israel, you get your act together then I, God, will be good to you.”  No!  Before Israel even had a chance to return to the Lord, God was already choosing to be gracious and merciful.

If you miss the message of God’s grace in the Holy Scriptures, you have missed salvation because only grace can save us.  What we have in common with the Israelites of old is that we are totally dependent upon God’s amazing grace.  Without grace, we are lost.  Praise is a response to the incredible grace God gives which is completely undeserved (Isaiah 12:1-6).

Grace is the thing that is distinctive about Christianity – no other religion, no other place will you find grace amidst the awful muck of the world.  Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return.  Grace is ridiculously generous.  Grace does not use carrot sticks, scorecards, or power politics.  Grace does not demand – it only gives.

Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver.

That is what God did for Israel.  That is what God has done for you.  And when we get a hold of this truth, even a little bit, there is a cascade of praise that comes rolling out of your heart and onto your lips.

The prophecy of Isaiah is an adventure of God’s determined love toward unlovable people.  That is why it is one of the most quoted books of the Old Testament by Jesus in the New Testament Gospels.  Jesus came because of grace.

Jesus came to release us from our obsessive need to be right, our compulsion to be rewarded, and all our anglings to be respected.  

Because Jesus came to set wayward captives free, life does not have to be a joyless effort to justify and validate ourselves before others.  The grace of God in Christ is a game-changer – and when we get a glimpse of it, we are forever altered and undone by its mercy.  Grace brings praise.

When grace takes hold of a person, a family, and a congregation there is no mumbling of songs – there is a shouting aloud and singing for joy because God is great!  Grace brings such joy and gladness that we do not care what we look like to other people; we are going to shout and sing and express our joy!  Yes, there is a very necessary and important place for contemplative, reverent, reflective worship… and, there is a place for completely letting go, becoming unhinged, and dancing before Jesus!

Advent, Christmas, and every season of the year is really all about God’s relentless and dogged pursuit of wayward people – the bringing of grace to a people living in darkness. Therefore, return to the Lord.  Be captivated by grace.  Renew your love for Jesus.  Lose yourself in praise and adoration of the One who gave everything just for you.  Worship Christ the King.  Proclaim his merciful Name as exalted over everything.

Awakening to Love

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

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Quite frankly, love is something that everyone on planet needs.  We all require to both receive and to give love.  But not everyone has a heart open to accepting love, and, so, find it nearly impossible to dispense love.  However, the good news is that love is near to each one of us.  We only need to reach and touch it because it is so close.

We have all likely heard the dictum “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”  Even if we have not used the phrase, the concept is common throughout the world.  Perhaps the chief hindrance to receiving and giving love is this reciprocal notion.

For example, much of Western society turns on the wheels of transactions.  This is seen in the many words we have for money and financial exchanges:  bills; coins; cash; credit and debit cards; stocks and bonds; bank accounts; 401k; paychecks, etc.  You get the idea.  We can scarcely imagine a culture without putting something into an account so that we can engage in commerce and consumerism.

None of this is neither inherently bad or good; it just is.  A problem arises when people allow the idea of transactions to seep into relationships.  When a person chooses to view the world primarily through the financial lenses of a transaction, we set ourselves up for a deficit of love.

It works something like this:   A parent invests time, money, and resources into a child’s life.  Mom and Dad do everything they can to set up little Johnny for success in this life (which, by the way, is often defined as getting a good paying job someday and being financially independent).  But when little Johnny decides to go all avant garde and does not live up to his parents’ expectations, their reaction betrays the transactional: “Look at all we did for you, and you repay us by not going to college and running off to do only God knows what!?”

Put in the context of a workplace, some bosses are only happy when the employee is producing and making money.  Management doesn’t understand why workers are upset.  Paying them more money doesn’t seem to do it.  They only see the transactional view of the world.  In the realm of personal relationships, we sent a Christmas card to that family and they never sent one back, and that makes us mad.  When it comes to God, we went to church, kept our nose clean and were ethical, and now something terrible happens in our lives.  We think God did not make good.  We invested in this God thing and He didn’t follow through with the transaction to give us the good life.

But God operates in a different economy.  Grace trumps transaction.  Grace is the gears and the grease of God’s love toward us.  The good news of Christianity is that God loves us, even when we have nothing to give, and even when we are far from the words and ways of Jesus.

“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful.  No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person.  But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinners.” (Romans 5:6-8, CEV).

It is likely that all of us, at some time or another, have felt the sting of someone else’s disappointment with us.  They “invested” in us in some way.  We “repaid” them with a decision or a different direction than what they expected.  Or, it went the other way.  We put time and effort into someone or a group of people, and they didn’t come through for us (e.g. and ironically, pastors and church volunteers often feel this way).

The first step to awakening to love is to forsake a transactional view of relationships and adopt a gracious approach to people and to God.  God is gracious, merciful, and kind.  It isn’t just what He does; it is who He is.  He gives love because He is love.  Until we get that basic understanding, we will flounder in our human relationships because true love will forever be elusive due to the transactional view.

Grace is the most effective way to the world of love, and the best way to the good life.  Yet, surprisingly, this is at no cost to us.  What are we to do?  Give yourselves to God, as people who have been raised from death to life.  Make every part of your life an offering to God.  Don’t let sin keep ruling your lives because you are ruled by God’s kindness and not by the law of the transaction.  Awaken to love because God is love. (Romans 6:12-14; 1 John 4:8-11)