TELLING THE STORY:
I had this absolutely incredible conversation with my brother, Robert last night. We were just sitting in his room getting caught up with one another when God led us into a deep reflection on Christ and the forgiveness of sin, of Jesus and the Blood of the Lamb, of God and His own Son on a cross. Our hearts swelled with love and joy as we went back and forth, speaking the truth of the story of God to one another. For two hours I felt the Spirit at work reminding of us of all that our loving Father has done, from the deliverance of the Hebrew people to the Passover Lamb, to the blood on the Alter, to the blood on the cross. White as snow, we are. No longer any condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, because of His atonement for our sins.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get sweeter, it went even deeper, as we were led to tears, thinking about the words Jesus said a few hours before hanging on the cross. Jesus was there in the garden, preparing Himself to die for you and me. While contemplating death, He called God, “Abba, Father.” Abba, a term of great affection, most akin to our word, “Daddy.” This is what Christ Jesus said at the very point He was faced with the pending reality and ultimate completion of God’s perfect will, the will for Jesus to die for the sins of mankind and for His blood to become the once for all perfect sacrifice for our sins. No where else does Jesus use the term “Abba.” Prior to this moment of anguish in Gathsemane Christ is more formal, using “God” and “Father” to name Him. No where else does He call Him “daddy.” Only here, at this moment, when He is prostrate on the ground, humbled by the event before Him, the culmination of God’s entire plan from the beginning. Here is where He looks up through tears and declares, with great love and trust, “You are my Abba Father, and I trust you. I will do your will here, even though I wish there were another way for this cup to pass from me.” Daddy. Abba.
We thought…. and paused to picture it….And then we cried.
What’s more, we thought, as we wiped our wet cheeks, now God says we too get to call God “Abba.” (Gal. 4:6)
Daddy.
Lover of my soul.
Oh…oh! Deep breath. Breathing in God. OH my! Oh my, How He loves us.
And we worshiped Him.
GRACE WORKS: THAT’S THE STORY
He and I just sat there and wept together at the thought, speechless. What unconditional love. What mercy. What grace! That’s it… what GRACE!!
This morning I woke up with such a glowing and thankful heart, so full of joy and life and love. It’s like the light was brighter in our house. I could see my wife more clearly, my kids, my friends, my job. All the works of the day that lay before me seemed, well, not like works at all. They were little tid-bits of delightful duties. Was I different today? Did I make some conscience effort to “work hard” for God today? No. So where did this new view of life and this burning motivation to work for God’s will today come from? OH, it came from my belief!!! Well, more specifically, it come from my complete immersion and acceptance of that belief, from the telling of the story until it led us to worship.
That story — the Gospel of Life story — the one where God creates an unfathomably huge universe and scores of beautiful creatures and plants and life, then creates a man and women and makes a paradise for them, but gives them a choice so that love will be genuine; but they choose to sin and then they’re separated from God. The story where people fill the land and fill it with sin; But God doesn’t give up on mankind even though we all deserve death, but instead saves a family from a world-wide flood in order to start fresh. That story — which continues later with God delivering a people from bondage, where He sends numerous prophesies of the coming King of Glory, whom will actually be God on the Earth, in human skin; but that King turns out to be a martyr for me, but His death is not the end because God raises Him to Life on the third day, and that death and resurrection provides atonement for my sins and for your sins, forever — a once for all-time, ultimate, sacrifice of unconditional love. Whew…. but that’s not all….
That story — the Gospel of Life story — where God then sends His Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, making us adopted children of God, removing condemnation from us completely, and even making us complete in Christ. That story — where the Father gives us direct access to Himself through His Spirit (Eph. 2:18), where we are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3), where we are not given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7); that story — the one where we are establishment, annotated, and sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22), where we become a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15:5) and where we are chosen and appointed to bear much fruit (John 15:16). That story, where we can approach God with freedom and confidence because of the finished work of Christ (Eph. 3:12) and get to become God’s co-workers (1 Cor. 6:1) and even get to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6). That story.
That story — the Gospel of Life story — IS a story of the Blood of the Lamb shed for us. It IS a story of forgiveness of sins, where we should hang on the cross but Christ takes our place, where we deserve death but Jesus dies in our stead. It IS a story of GRACE!! That story. But that’s not all…
It is also a story of God gathering together people who will believe this story with all of their hearts. But this gathered people can only do so by faith provided by His Spirit. And this gathered people only does so in order to do God’s will just as Christ did in the garden and in the grave. It is also a story of brothers and sisters in Christ, and of children, who sit in each others rooms and in each others lives and share this story — deeply and completely — and they break bread to remember His body broken for us, and they drink wine to remember His blood flowed for us. And they remember. And they tell the story. They tell it until the tears of joy flow down.
And they worship… together.
Because of what they believe… together.
It is also a story of the church, a gathered people who believe in God’s grace and receive it so fully that it changes everything.
And it is also a story of God’s will — now — and of our works — now — a story where we work not because we think for a minute it will gain us anything, but we work because we simply must, because of what God DID for us. We are compelled. We work mostly because of what we believe about God, Christ, blood, forgiveness of sin, new life and new identity, and of how that redefines everything; of how a brand new word enters into our lives with such force that we leap to our feet in praise and steady ourselves with a posture to go. That word is … Grace. Not cheap grace. But deep grace. Not lazy grace. But amazing grace. The grace that hits you in the soul and renews your mind, making you think about Christ … all … day … long.
That grace. That is the grace that truly works.
Grace is the story. Grace works. Grace motivates. Grace moves us. And when we move, we move without guilt or pressure or condemnation, or out of some twisted gospel of self-righteous, self-salvation. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t even motivate ourselves to do good works. We are only pathetic, helpless, lumps of dirt without God… and His story and His grace and His Spirit and each other. We need God’s atonement for salvation and we need God’s Spirit to set us on the path of good works. We have nothing to offer but surrender. And a good surrender is one with both hands high up in the air, assuming a posture that looks a whole lot like …. praise.
Is there a problem with what we might call nominal Christianity (Christians in name only)? Sure there is. It’s a work of the enemy of God to keep us from working for God and Wilkerson says it well right here. But what is the best answer to this problem of passivity? Is it boot straps or Bible studies? Is it motivational speeches or church organization? No. It’s always been the same answer to the same problem, in every era of mankind. The answer is Grace, and understanding The Story. It’s not that we believe a little and that belief makes us lazy. It’s that we don’t believe enough, to the point that our beliefs motivate us. We must tell the story until grace does its work, and we work for God. Then and only then will our work be done in and through His perfect grace.
Why did God create us? Grace
Why did God deliver us? Grace
Why did God redeem us? Grace
Why did God atone for our sins? Grace
Why does God give His Spirit? Grace
Why does God secure us as His own? Grace
What is our response to all of this grace? Works.
If our response is not work then we don’t understand grace. Simple.
Grace Works: That’s the Story!
Sometimes we just get ourselves too busy. Sometimes we just get the cart before the horse. We have to remember to just sit in each others rooms, get caught up with one another, and allow God to lead us into a deep reflection on Christ and the forgiveness of sin, of Jesus and the Blood of the Lamb, of God and His own Son on a cross.
Our hearts will always swell with love and joy when we tell His story.
And our lips will praise Him and call Him daddy.
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