In Light of Grace...

When it comes to getting along with God, grace is all we have going for us. 

Thankfully, God's grace is more than sufficient for that purpose, but should it be perceived as no more than a perpetual get out of jail free card? Is the human race, including Christians, nothing more than incessant recidivists? One has to wonder if God doesn't long for more than that within his gracious heart. Is grace merely a means of him looking past the nature of the beast?

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, without much thought, to the next offense. 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 all we have going for us after all.

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 nothing more than decorative hooks upon which are hung our grace coveralls for when they're needed? Can God possibly be that lame?

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 rest in God's mercy while moving forward into the holiness of his Spirit. In light of grace, it's the only sensible thing to do.