“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have
strengthened me.... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in
the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” —Walt Disney
strengthened me.... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in
the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” —Walt Disney
There are those who stretch the notion of grace to the outer limits. In this life you will meet people who will push past what you can accept - i.e. the alcoholic, the drug addict, the harsh
husband etc.
And yet we learn this from the Gospel of John about Jesus. He loved people. He would do anything for anyone at anytime. He listened without judgment. He attracted to himself the down and out. There was no pretense about him.
It is unsettling for some of us to accept these type people as believers. They don’t fit the pattern, the norm, of whatever it takes to join the Christian club. That is revealing.
Whatever lowest common denominator we might come up with, Christ
can go lower.
Whatever lofty standard of righteousness we might set, Christ can go higher.
Consider this, from Brennan Manning,
“Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (see Revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me that she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son. I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure pastor addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last 'trick' whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school.”
'But how is that possible?' we ask.
Then we hear God say, 'They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'
There they are. There we are - the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, wrecked by life, and beaten by trials, wearing the bloody garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to faith.
My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never
understood the gospel of grace.”
-Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.
Go give em Heaven,
Pastor Scott
Want more encouraging blogs from Pastor Scott? Click here.
husband etc.
And yet we learn this from the Gospel of John about Jesus. He loved people. He would do anything for anyone at anytime. He listened without judgment. He attracted to himself the down and out. There was no pretense about him.
It is unsettling for some of us to accept these type people as believers. They don’t fit the pattern, the norm, of whatever it takes to join the Christian club. That is revealing.
Whatever lowest common denominator we might come up with, Christ
can go lower.
Whatever lofty standard of righteousness we might set, Christ can go higher.
Consider this, from Brennan Manning,
“Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (see Revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me that she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son. I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure pastor addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last 'trick' whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school.”
'But how is that possible?' we ask.
Then we hear God say, 'They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'
There they are. There we are - the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, wrecked by life, and beaten by trials, wearing the bloody garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to faith.
My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never
understood the gospel of grace.”
-Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.
Go give em Heaven,
Pastor Scott
Want more encouraging blogs from Pastor Scott? Click here.
1 Comment
The same Blood that covers their sins, covers mine. What makes my sin more acceptable than anyone elses? God help me to love as you love