Grace...

Question for the day...Is there grace in your life?

Thought for the day....how do you define grace?

I was thinking about this yesterday while I was sitting in class, (still pouting 'cause I couldn't be outside--pouting is such an attractive pose...).  What is grace?  When people talk about not being able to experience the grace of God within the institutional church, I understand...but strongly disagree.  Grace is not a life with no conflict, smooth sailing, wonderful relationships, sound financial standing.  But I think that's how we define grace in our gut.  (We might not define it that way in public speech, because it sounds pretty shallow...but I think we function that way if we are honest.)

Grace is God's work.  Grace is God's unconditional love of all people.  Grace took Christ to the cross because we couldn't live with God's grace in the world.  Grace constantly works for reconciliation.  Grace comes from self-denial (which is possible, but only possible through the work of the Spirit).  But here's my point.  Grace is not smooth sailing, wonderful relationships, money, house, beautiful landscaping, etc.  Grace is light in the darkness.  Grace is forgiveness in the darkness of sin.  Grace is reconciliation in conflict.  Grace is strength from weakness.

Several years ago a fifth grader named Erin was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer.  Those were dark days for Erin's family and friends.  They were even dark days for friends of Erin's friends, people who didn't know Erin but saw the pain of her diagnosis in the people who knew her.  But let me tell you, grace was powerful in that experience.  Erin opted out of a second round of treatment.  Erin shared her confidence in the love of God in her life with all those who would listen.  Erin loved and smiled and celebrated the days she had left.  Not all days were perfect.  Not all moments were smiling.  We hate to leave those we love; we hate to see them leave.  But in the suffering and the pain and the wrenching good-byes, everyone will speak of the grace they experienced through Erin's life and death.

When life is easy, we get way too caught up with the arrangement of the chairs, the color of the carpet, the success of our hair-do, the price of tea in China.  Part of the reason the church embodies grace is that it is hard to get along all the time.  We are human.  And in the humanness together, we have opportunities to see grace at work. 

I guess the challenge to seeing God's grace is being sure we are looking for it, and not for convenience or agreement or prosperity.  The farther we are willing to go into difficulty, the closer God's grace will be...