Thankfully, God's grace is more than sufficient for that purpose, but should it be perceived as nothing more than a perpetual get out of jail free card? Humans, including Christians, are at least in some respect, nothing more than incessant recidivists. One has to wonder if God, within his gracious heart, doesn't long for more than that. Is grace just another word for him looking past the flawed nature of the creature— an acknowledgment that, that was the best he could do?
The answers to such tough questions may be disturbing to us who have come to depend upon being graded on a curve. Knowing the cut of our own jib, we may feel safer letting such things go unprobed. Put it all down to grace and move on, why pick at scabs? On to the next offense, without so much as a second thought. That appears to be a quick, convenient way to deal with things, and besides, plumbing any further can only reveal nothing but hopeless sludge. Grace is truly all we have going for us.
Yet, the Bible is filled with directives telling us to get our acts together and move on with God: press on, put off, make every effort, guard, stand, fight, don't lose heart, etc, etc, etc. Are those real directives, spoken with the expectation of compliance, or are they just decorative hooks upon which we hang our grace coveralls in the fleeting moments they are not needed? Can God possibly be that lame? No way!
Yet, the Bible is filled with directives telling us to get our acts together and move on with God: press on, put off, make every effort, guard, stand, fight, don't lose heart, etc, etc, etc. Are those real directives, spoken with the expectation of compliance, or are they just decorative hooks upon which we hang our grace coveralls in the fleeting moments they are not needed? Can God possibly be that lame? No way!
Walking before God takes two legs.
Even though we are hobbled and could get no where by our own efforts, we do not seem to be considered immobile by the God who comes alongside and helps. His Word to us is "move." In light of his indwelling Spirit in the born-again, it is only reasonable to expect a difference in them— in direction, in attitude, in action, in lifestyle. The saved may be excused by God but that doesn't translate into them making excuses before God, and definitely not on his dime.
So, we must rest in God's mercy all the while moving forward into the holiness of his Spirit.
In light of grace, it's the only sensible thing to do.
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