I was a United Methodist pastor for 41 years.
Theologically, I am a life-long Wesleyan.
John Wesley is the person given credit for the founding of the Methodist movement...which eventually became the Methodist Church...and since 1968, the United Methodist Church.
And the top-of-the-heap biggie for Wesleyans is Grace.
More exactly, the divine Grace that precedes human decision.
Wesley understood Grace as God’s active presence in our lives.
A presence not dependent on human actions or human response.
It is a gift. A universal gift.
Grace is central to the Wesleyan understanding of Christian faith and life.
Grace can be defined as the love and mercy given by God because God wants us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it.
Grace. Grace. Grace.
What about this thing called Grace?
What about the feeling that we are not worthy of Grace?
What about the pain inflicted by others who tell us we are not worthy of Grace?
What about the darkness, the shame, the guilt and the down-deep very-secret fear that Grace is not for us? Other people, maybe...but most certainly not us.
What about our belief that we are broken…
broken-down, broken in pieces, and broken beyond the reach of Grace?
What about the fact that we are sometimes shaken to our core,
that we are at risk of losing it all: heart, mind, and soul…
that we are not what we thought we were
and that our life is altogether fast-passing and false…
that our deep-seated doubts and mistrust and desperate rants
make the touch of Grace impossible for us?
What about the assurance others speak of but we do not sense…not one little bit?
What about this thing called Grace?
Thankfully, Grace is nothing less than The Very Presence of God…
And Grace is all there is…
And Grace is all that’s needed…
And Grace is with us always…
The Very Presence of the God who says I will never leave you alone. Ever…
I Am With You Always. Always.
(The above paragraph is not John Wesley, but it is not outside the scope of Wesleyan theology.)
Many of us have a difficult time understanding Grace, I think.
We are so used to living in a world of rules and regulations, …
so used to competition… …
so used to being told to be good…
to do right…
that Grace is often hard for us to understand.
Many of us don’t believe Grace can shape our lives more effectively than law…and rules.
Karl Barth, the great theologian, wrote this from Basel Prison:
Believe me, there is a captivity much worse than the captivity in this house. There are walls much thicker and doors much heavier than these closed upon you. All of us, the people without and you within, are prisoners of our own obstinacy, of our many greeds, of our various anxieties, of our mistrust, and in the last analysis of our unbelief. We are all sufferers. Most of all we suffer from ourselves. We each make life difficult for ourselves and in so doing for our fellowmen. We suffer from life’s lack of meaning.
But now listen. Into the depth of our predicament the word is spoken from on high: By grace you have been saved!
… You? Yes, we! Not just any other people, more pious and better than we are, no we, each one of us.
When life is good…and when it is not…Grace is there!
When things go our way…and when they do not…Grace is there!
When we are hemmed in by troubles…and when we are not…Grace is there!
When sin is involved…even our sin…Grace is there!
Ah yes, but:
Are we brave enough…to give ourselves to that kind of Grace?
If the Good Book says God is love, and that we are the apples of God’s eye…
Would we believe that…
would we give ourselves to that kind of Grace?
If the Good Book says that God is approachable…
Would we believe that…
would we give ourselves to that kind of Grace?
If the Good Book says that God has forgiven us completely…
Would we believe that…
would we give ourselves to that kind of Grace?
If the Good Book says that God will never leave us or forsake us…
Would we believe that…
would we give ourselves to that kind of Grace?
If the Good Book says God relates to us through love alone…
Would we believe that…
would we give ourselves to that kind of Grace?
If so, Grace stands waiting for us.
Waiting for us to say Yes to everything Grace offers…
Waiting for us to lose all we thought we had,
and all we thought we needed,
and then to gain the assurance that Grace is all there is. ..
the Divine Grace that precedes human decision.
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