Graduate 180: Advent & Ephesians, Day 8
"...according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us."
The forgiveness and redemption that God offers to us--described in the last entry--are offered to us "according to the riches of [God's] grace." Again, our attention is drawn back to the superabundance of God's generosity, of His power active in our lives, of His gifts, and of His favor--far beyond human understanding and infinitely beyond any earthly wealth. Francis Foulkes writes, "Six times in this letter the apostle speaks thus of the riches of God, revealed and made available, the wealth of his grace and mercy and glory (v. 18; 2:4, 7; 3:8, 16), and the expression is characteristically Pauline (cf. Rom. 2:4; 9:23; 11:33; 2 Cor. 8:9; Col. 1:27; 2:2)." (Foulkes, 59)
The forgiveness that we receive from God through Jesus Christ for our sins and trespasses is probably the manifestation of God's grace that is most familiar to us. And the picture of him lavishing us with His grace is so important. Sometimes, unfortunately, we can get this picture in our minds of God begrudgingly offering forgiveness or mercy. Certainly, in our own lives, it's not often that we are really eager to offer forgiveness and mercy. When someone hurts us, our first impulse is probably not to seek restoration of relationship with them. Our first impulse is probably to feel anger or hurt, sometimes shame or offense, resentment, bitterness, indignation, even rage. Even if they apologize to us, we may think twice about really mending the relationship. We'll, at the very least, keep them at a comfortable distance for a while. Give it a little while and we might come 'round to embracing them again, but they'll have to prove themselves first and we won't give them the benefit of the doubt again.
This almost certainly isn't a perfect representation of our psychology in these kinds of moments. The point is that when someone hurts us, we often carefully regulate our gifts of forgiveness and acceptance. Unfortunately, because we are like this, we often think that God is like this too. But nothing could be further from the truth. The grace that God demonstrated through his forgiveness and redemption--Paul says that grace is lavished upon us. Liberally, extravagantly, without reservation, freely, excessively, he lavishes His grace upon us. It's almost offensive the way that God is so free and generous with His grace. Surely that person doesn't deserve that much grace! How could Jesus forgive that man or woman?!? And, of course, that's exactly the point. He doesn't deserve it. Neither does she. Neither do you. And neither do I.
None of us deserves even the smallest part of God's grace and kindness and goodness toward us, and yet He has seen fit to open the flood-gates of heaven and pour forth blessings and grace on us. And He invites us to do the same thing with those around us. On the night of His betrayal, when He would be offered up as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of the world and the forgiveness of sins by death on a cross, Jesus gave His disciples this instruction:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35; cf. 1 John 4:7-21)
The love that we receive from God should lead to our loving other people in the same way. That's not the statement of a legalistic requirement that God places on our shoulders. Rather, it is a description of the kind of character and way of living that naturally follows from the experience of God's overwhelming generosity. In fact, if you will allow yourself to be led by God, you will come to realize that forgiving someone is one of the greatest, most thrilling, most blessing-filled things that you can do. It's not always easy; I understand that. But we also need to realize that something very powerful goes on when I choose to release a person from the grip and weight of condemnation and guilt. ...when I realize that I am so rich in Christ that the hurt or offense that was done to me seems miniscule by comparison. ...when I find myself so desiring to love and be in relationship with this person that even I want to push aside any hindrance or barrier that would stand in the way of our being joined in friendship.
The way our world deals with hurt and pain and resentment and bitterness and grudges and guilt is so messed up. That's the simple truth of it. It's a terrible way of trying to manage people's behavior and minimize the extent to which I get hurt and make sure that my rights are protected and that wrong-doers get what they deserve. Some of these things are important. But ultimately there is no power in this system to redeem, to restore, or to revitalize. The only way that can happen is when we start to draw upon that fountain of overflowing, excessive, too-much-to-handle, and more-than-we-deserve grace of God.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
The forgiveness and redemption that God offers to us--described in the last entry--are offered to us "according to the riches of [God's] grace." Again, our attention is drawn back to the superabundance of God's generosity, of His power active in our lives, of His gifts, and of His favor--far beyond human understanding and infinitely beyond any earthly wealth. Francis Foulkes writes, "Six times in this letter the apostle speaks thus of the riches of God, revealed and made available, the wealth of his grace and mercy and glory (v. 18; 2:4, 7; 3:8, 16), and the expression is characteristically Pauline (cf. Rom. 2:4; 9:23; 11:33; 2 Cor. 8:9; Col. 1:27; 2:2)." (Foulkes, 59)
The forgiveness that we receive from God through Jesus Christ for our sins and trespasses is probably the manifestation of God's grace that is most familiar to us. And the picture of him lavishing us with His grace is so important. Sometimes, unfortunately, we can get this picture in our minds of God begrudgingly offering forgiveness or mercy. Certainly, in our own lives, it's not often that we are really eager to offer forgiveness and mercy. When someone hurts us, our first impulse is probably not to seek restoration of relationship with them. Our first impulse is probably to feel anger or hurt, sometimes shame or offense, resentment, bitterness, indignation, even rage. Even if they apologize to us, we may think twice about really mending the relationship. We'll, at the very least, keep them at a comfortable distance for a while. Give it a little while and we might come 'round to embracing them again, but they'll have to prove themselves first and we won't give them the benefit of the doubt again.
This almost certainly isn't a perfect representation of our psychology in these kinds of moments. The point is that when someone hurts us, we often carefully regulate our gifts of forgiveness and acceptance. Unfortunately, because we are like this, we often think that God is like this too. But nothing could be further from the truth. The grace that God demonstrated through his forgiveness and redemption--Paul says that grace is lavished upon us. Liberally, extravagantly, without reservation, freely, excessively, he lavishes His grace upon us. It's almost offensive the way that God is so free and generous with His grace. Surely that person doesn't deserve that much grace! How could Jesus forgive that man or woman?!? And, of course, that's exactly the point. He doesn't deserve it. Neither does she. Neither do you. And neither do I.
None of us deserves even the smallest part of God's grace and kindness and goodness toward us, and yet He has seen fit to open the flood-gates of heaven and pour forth blessings and grace on us. And He invites us to do the same thing with those around us. On the night of His betrayal, when He would be offered up as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of the world and the forgiveness of sins by death on a cross, Jesus gave His disciples this instruction:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35; cf. 1 John 4:7-21)
The love that we receive from God should lead to our loving other people in the same way. That's not the statement of a legalistic requirement that God places on our shoulders. Rather, it is a description of the kind of character and way of living that naturally follows from the experience of God's overwhelming generosity. In fact, if you will allow yourself to be led by God, you will come to realize that forgiving someone is one of the greatest, most thrilling, most blessing-filled things that you can do. It's not always easy; I understand that. But we also need to realize that something very powerful goes on when I choose to release a person from the grip and weight of condemnation and guilt. ...when I realize that I am so rich in Christ that the hurt or offense that was done to me seems miniscule by comparison. ...when I find myself so desiring to love and be in relationship with this person that even I want to push aside any hindrance or barrier that would stand in the way of our being joined in friendship.
The way our world deals with hurt and pain and resentment and bitterness and grudges and guilt is so messed up. That's the simple truth of it. It's a terrible way of trying to manage people's behavior and minimize the extent to which I get hurt and make sure that my rights are protected and that wrong-doers get what they deserve. Some of these things are important. But ultimately there is no power in this system to redeem, to restore, or to revitalize. The only way that can happen is when we start to draw upon that fountain of overflowing, excessive, too-much-to-handle, and more-than-we-deserve grace of God.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 10:35 AM
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