Grace

Reposting a couple of my posts from an old blog because I think they belong here.
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Hi All,

I've been meaning to write about this for awhile now, but the stars have just now aligned properly -- I have my proper notebook, bible, and internet (as well as sufficient battery life on the computer). I pray that this will come out eloquently or at least clearly.

Grace. It's hard concept to get your brain wrapped around. It's definitely not how this world functions. Our church teaches a class about it. It's the foundational message of the gospel. Sometimes I think I kind of get it. Then I get a better glimpse and am further blown away. Here's an example...

Second Samuel chapters 11 and 12 tell an account of King David:

• King David finds himself attracted to Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, 
• so he calls her over and sleeps with her. 
• She gets pregnant. 
• To cover up the mess he's gotten himself into, King David sends a letter with the husband, Uriah, to his captain. "In it he wrote, 'Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.'" (2 Samuel 11:15). 

Apparently, even after sleeping with this man's wife and then having other people kill him to cover up for it, King David doesn't really feel bad about it. God sends a prophet to enlighten him. The words God uses to illustrate this point make me want to cry:
"There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The right man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup, and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." (2 Sam. 12:1-4)

King David did horrible things. Numerous horrible things. And here is God's reply.

Brace yourself.

The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. (2 Sam 12:13)

Now, don't miss the fact that King David, slow as he was to do so, did recognize what he did was wrong wrong and repented. (Read Psalm 51 for more about that).

Ok. I don't know how you're feeling right now, but I actually felt angry when I read this. God forgave him? How could he forgive all of that? Why would he? (It wasn't that there were no consequences to the sin. There were. But there was also forgiveness and grace). It doesn't make any sense to us, because that's not how this world works. But that's how God works. Unbelievable.

A lot of times I don't know how to be "relevant" to people in terms of sharing my faith. But something I've seen again and again is the transforming power of God's grace.When you think no one could or would forgive you and realize that God already did. It's powerful. I think it's what people need.

I hope some part of that came across in a way that made some bit of sense.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited power as an example for those who would believe on him and have eternal life.
- The Apostle Paul in his first letter to Timothy

Time for bed.

Goodnight!

~Lauren