Scandalous Grace

I've blogged before about having been brought up in the church. I learned at an early age how to stay quiet during a sermon... I know the Songs of Faith and Praise hymnal by heart... and my pint-sized first bible still sits on my shelf at home, its pages pristine between pink shiny binding.
So obviously, I heard about God and the gift of Jesus from an early age. I learned the parables and the Gospel on felt boards in Sunday school. In doing so, I became a fan of the idea of grace early in my life. I sang the song lyrics that good Church of Christ girls sing...

"Oh to Grace, how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be...."
"Grace, Grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within..."
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me...."

I loved it. This idea of unrelenting forgiveness... of reckless pardon. Who wouldn't love that, after all?
In my ten-year-old frame of thinking, of course, it looked much different than it does today. Back when my need for grace solely extended to disrespecting my parents, or fighting with my sisters. Back when those "taboo" sins seemed so far removed from my radar. Of course grace looked good... but I didn't need it as much as "other people" did!
And in truth, I didn't. As a child, grace isn't called to atone for many of the wrongs that you commit, I suppose. There aren't as many.

But then I grew older. Those "taboo" sins were not so far removed from my pristine heart anymore, and I felt, for the first time, the panicked need for grace. Does that make sense, the idea of a panicked need? Maybe you've felt it. Perhaps it was the first time you really comprehended the fullness of what Jesus had done... maybe it was even years after that. But at some point, I think that we all feel a panicked need for grace. The realization that, as much as we might try, grace is the only thing separating us from the brokenness that we inherently feel, as strangers and aliens in this world.

One of my favorite Christian artists, the late Rich Mullins, once said:
"We are not saved because we're good. We're good because we're saved. Never forget what Jesus did for you."

I think that this, in a nutshell, is the problem that we face today: We've forgotten what Jesus did for us.

"But Amanda!," many might argue, "We haven't forgotten! Look- we wear our cross necklaces! We listen to our Christian music! We go to church when the doors are open, and we know all the songs! How can you say we've forgotten what Jesus did for us? We are, after all, religious people."

And I would agree. All of those things are good. They are important. They are holy and pure and true.

But I would change one important thing about Rich's statement in order to wholly get my point across.

We are not saved because we're good. We're good because we're saved. Never forget what Jesus did for you. Or for your brothers and sisters. Or for the homeless man on your street corner. Or for strangers thousands of miles away. For believers and nonbelievers. For the rich and for the poor. For the orphan who sits in a foster home, and for the pregnant teenager who is scared and confused. For the drug addict in the midst of temptation, and for the businessman who takes advantage of the needy. For the stay-at-home mom, and for the single dad. For every man, woman, and child to come into existence, and for their descendants. And for you. For even you.

I think that we know about Jesus. We know the logistics of His sacrifice. We know about the cross, and the abolishment of the law. We know about the whips, and the thorns, and the tomb reopening. But I think that, in part, many of us have forgotten the gospel message. That Jesus came to seek and to save the LOST. Not solely the ones who "have it all together" or who have keys to the church building. His grace is reckless and limitless.... it's scandalous. It's transformative, and creative, and good, and kind. And we are so unable to fully comprehend what it means, because we are so afraid! We are afraid of goodness, and we are terrified of kindness. After all, isn't it weakness in our society to forgive those who spit in your face?
We do not understand a scandalous grace because we are so intent on avoiding scandal! We seek to blend into a world that we were created to stand out in! But even more so, we do not understand a scandalous grace because we fail to extend it to the same people who He dared extend it to. We turn our noses up at the broken, though we are the worst. We close our doors to the addicted. We turn our backs on the helpless. How utterly unbiblical.
If He could forgive those whom we consider the "worst".... why can't we? Are we so afraid? Are we so discontent? Are we so focused building walls... walls of nationality, of religion, of ethnicity, of race, of political party... that we forget the unifying purpose of grace?

Let's create a scandal. Let's be different, and united in purpose... let's not forget what Jesus did, but rather, let's transform lives by its message! That, regardless of who you are or what you've done, the same grace is there. The same gift. The same grace.

Blessings on you and yours.
Amanda