Grace: So Simple, So Profound and So Easily Forgotten
(Jake Buss - Worship Leader)
At the dawn of this particular
chapter in my life I find myself feeling like a kid in a candy store, but in a
slightly different way. It is a flurry of emotions; excitement, joy, relief,
fear, angst, all wrapped up in a ball bouncing around my chest. Trying to sort
through the world of potential ventures before me, and wrestling with the
over-ambitious drive to do everything. My mind tripping over thoughts while
trying to process what is very much a continuation of what has been a dream
come true, and battling with the phobia that I might in some way ruin it in
some epically unfortunate event. Then in one single moment at praise band
rehearsal this week, I was reminded and convicted of something that I had lost
sight of in my progression of tasks...grace.
As I felt the discomfort of things
going not quite right, like an itch of the heart, in one moment the Holy Spirit
just spoke silently to me, “Let go of the typical, trust me to do the
atypical.” So I was led to completely change the overall lay-out of what we
were going to do moving forward. I proposed my changed sense of direction to
the band and it was received with grace and we moved forward trusting that
God’s grace is going to bring it all together. Let me tell you as a musician
who has worked with and led other musicians since I was 16; that is not the
typical occurrence. Grace is unfortunately not people’s first response to
change or initial mistakes most of the time. So, after just feeling the
overflow of peace and thankfulness for getting to be part of such a Christ-like
group of servants, it made me reflect on that very thing...grace.
Last week, as we continued diving
into 1 Peter 2, one of the things I was led to really take some time to think
on was “love the brethren”. Specifically, this means love your brothers and
sisters in Christ a.k.a. "the Church." Now, I know we can typically
say, “Of course I love the people in my Church.” But I challenge you, as I’ve
challenged myself, to really take some time to be honest on this.
For me, my reflection starts with my
marriage. My wife is the person that I love the most, and when our marriage is
going well it is sweeter than any other human relationship. But still I know
how easy it is for our marriage to become a grace-less, conflictive
relationship. As I think about it, when you really break down why things are
going well or poorly, it all comes down to whether we are living out
Christ-like graciousness towards one another. I mean, read 1 Corinthians
13:4-7. Most of those characteristics of love are all rooted in a willingness
to grant grace to the other person.
I believe all other relationships
are the exact same. I know I’ve found that I’ve gotten along well with people
that are not typically easy to get along with in my life because I was
intentional about emulating Christ’s example of applying grace. On the other
hand I didn’t get along with people who were great because I had a legalistic
or cynical perspective.
Now, the question my head and heart
move to from here is why? Why is it important that we do this? The actions of
my fellow worshippers provide a great answer. When we live graciously with the
people around us it creates an environment that people want to be a part of,
and it most accurately displays our Savior. In this specific experience, I was led
to worship by the graciousness of the people around us.
I know we spend a lot of time
strategizing how to draw people into the life of the Church. Well, which is a
better environment to live, work, or be in? One where the majority of what
people hear is negative feedback, complaining, disagreements and a constant
need for people to express their personal needs and preferences as they
conflict with yours? Or one where people are mutually intentional about placing
the interests of others before their own, and willing to grant others the same
grace that is theirs in Christ regardless? If a lot of people want nothing to
do with Church because of a fear of “judgment”, the greatest way for us as the
Church to combat that is to be the example of what grace-filled community looks
like. I mean, if you think about it, a Church that is without a communal
environment of grace is Biblically a contradiction. If we call ourselves
Christians (followers of Christ) but are unwilling to grant grace day-to-day,
all we are doing is slapping a cross on the side of a worldly, cut-throat
business model,. providing no uniquely Christ-like experience to the common
Church visitor who gets enough negativity at their nine to five throughout the
week. Those that are trapped in the constantly critical rhythm of the world are
looking for an escape, but are turning to drugs, alcohol, sex, television etc.
to get out of it. Planet Fitness should not be the only place where people can
go to avoid being judged. Christ shows us that the foot of the cross is the
first and foremost “judgment-free zone”
I do not believe that Journey is
failing in this area by any means, but I know that where there are naturally
sinful people who have taken on the life-long pursuit of dying to themselves,
it will always be a struggle to be intentionally gracious.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There is an
accountability to grace that is necessary. As Paul expresses in Romans 6:
“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase, BY NO MEANS!” But
nonetheless, the lost were drawn to the presence of Jesus because he was
gracious, and cared more about loving the person than getting some small form
of vengeance for the grievances he had. Remember, it is the kindness and the
grace of God that leads us to repentance.
In conclusion, brothers and sisters,
we are drawn to Christ and to experience the joy of his presence because of His
grace. My prayer is that we would not let the typical way that human’s interact
with each other in our world taint the beautiful example of grace-filled,
God-centered, humble community that Jesus displays and calls us to. If by His
grace we can manifest that kind of ideal, I know we would begin to see revival
take place.
