Monthly Archive for January, 2011

I remember many years ago, hearing that a certain man had fallen from grace.  “He must have done something really terrible,” I thought.  After all, in the religious circles I frequented, that phrase was reserved for the worst of sinners.

Then I read the Bible and learned something much different.

In a letter to Believers living in Galatia, Paul declared “you have fallen from grace.”  Why?  Because they were trying to be so good.  It seems that those obsessed with always performing righteously are in danger of alienating the very God they think they’re pleasing.  In fact, “alienate” is the exact word Paul used.  Scary.

I’m a sinner, so I might as well admit it.  (Not that I like it that way.)  The good news is that, just like Paul also said, I “eagerly await for the hope of righteousness from faith.”

Choices… Strive to be perfect and discount grace?  Or be human – yet knowing through the eyes of faith that God sees me as perfect.  I accept the latter.  I’m too bad to fall.

Spending time with God can be pretty cool.  But why has it been made complicated?  There are books and teachings and articles on all the things we “should” do.  The supposed formulas for entering the Lord’s presence include ten steps, twelve elements, six ingredients, and anagrams to help us remember.  It’s so confusing and overwhelming that sometimes I quit before I start.

David, a key figure in the Bible, and the person who wrote most of the Psalms, didn’t have this problem.  He said to God: “Each  morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”

Tell God what’s bugging me and wait, as in just sit there for awhile.  See waiting as the spiritual activity it truly is.  That sounds simple enough to get even a frail mortal like me to rest at His feet.  And I think that’s what God’s wanted all along.

In the book of Proverbs, Solomon wrote “There’s nothing new under the sun.”  But the Bible also tells us that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning, that believers are a new creation, that God has established a new covenant with his children, etc.  What gives?

It must be that what the Bible calls new are realities found somewhere other than under the sun.  They exist in a realm that is spiritual, not physical.

Looking out on a clean 12-month calendar, it’s easy to ponder all the newness ahead.  I might consider or set goals involving new accomplishments, new possessions, new experiences.  Businesses and other organizations (including religious ones) contemplate new programs, buildings, activities, and events.  But is any of that new?

If I want to know what’s new, I think I should focus on different areas.  Like new depths in relationships, kindnesses, ways to show grace to my brothers and sisters, heights of worship, and the like… none of which have to do with anything under the sun.  Instead, they reside in that secret place where God and man intersect, and where all things have become new.

Happy new year.