Glasses for Grace

Jon Acuff writes a blog that reads like a daily "inside joke" for people who grew up in the Church. It's called "Stuff Christians Like," and it gives me a good laugh on most days. But he reserves Wednesdays for serious stuff, and he calls it, of course, "Serious Wednesdays." He writes "seriously" as well as he writes humorously.

Today he spilled the gospel all over the page for us, and it was a great thing to wake up to this morning. I have had these niggling ideas jostling around in my brain for a couple of weeks, ideas that go along with what Jon wrote today, but I can't for the life of me remember what I read or heard that started me thinking along these tracks. That really irritates me! I have very few original ideas, so I won't take credit for anything I write here, much... lets just say there is an original source to be located, somewhere... else.

Jon Acuff writes,
"When you doubt God's goodness, you doubt the very core of who He is.

Love and compassion and kindness are not His attributes. They are His heart and soul. They are not His hobbies. They are the lifeblood of who He is. They are His fingerprints and His breath. They are His everything.

You see this repeated over and over in the Bible. When asked to reveal Himself to Moses in Exodus 33, do you know what He puts on display? Do you know what He showcases in a single moment to show the core of His presence? He reveals HIS GOODNESS.

In Isaiah 30:18 do you know what we're told is God's reason to rise? The verse says, 'He rises to show you COMPASSION.' His purpose is COMPASSION. We are told that He 'longs to be GRACIOUS.' Not likes, not even loves, He LONGS."

You can read the rest here... It's worth reading. And printing. And keeping. And reading again. Because our "default mode" is always to fall back onto effort and law and lock-jaw determination to get through our days. It's a subtle but deadly temptation, to doubt not God's ability, but His willingness. Not His love-for-the-world, but whether or not He really likes ME very much. Is He tolerant? Or jealously passionate?

This is why I feel that I can't hear the gospel enough, this reminder that although I am needy and broken and sinful, "my God of mercy will come to meet me." Just like the man who begged Jesus to heal His daughter, my belief is mixed with an awful lot of unbelief.

We all know, we've all been told, that God is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb. 13:8) So why is it that we have a "good day/bad day mentality" when it comes to our expectations of how God will react to us (which has layers of lies to it, not the least of which is that GOD REACTS)... or that we come to the Bible
with two sets of glasses: one for the Old Testament and one for the New. "Flip to the Old Testament... put on your 'God of Wrath and Justice glasses... Flip to the New... put on your 'God of mercy' glasses."


In the Bible, from cover to cover, God again and again tells us who He is: good, gracious, slow to anger, compassionate, gracious, loving. It's like He can't use enough words, because we are so hard of hearing, so slow to understand.

I am hard of hearing. I am slow to understand. I still flinch, I wince, I wait for the slap that never comes... I wait for God to say, "that's it, you've made your bed... now lie in it." I've lived almost 40 years and I've never heard that yet, never felt a slap yet. There are stings and pangs but they heal and redirect. God is a God of redemption if He is anything ever at all. He takes everything evil, everything ugly, everything sinful, everything stupid -- and makes it all beautiful in HIS time. That is what He is doing, this Cosmic Artist, making something beautiful, all the time.

Whatever it is that I read several weeks ago made my eyelids flicker for a minute when I realized that I come to the Scriptures -- and to life -- expecting to find a God of wrath and justice, most of the time. And when I do that, I usually see what I expect to see. I have on warped glasses, through which I see a warped reality. For a moment I paused and thought, and although I haven't tested this thoroughly yet, I did just finish reading through the Bible last year and yes - you know what? I think it just might be true: there just might be more mercy in the Old Testament than wrath or "justice." But mercy doesn't feel as trustworthy, somehow... it feels more like something of which to be suspicious. Wrath and justice I "get." I understand it, I expect it, and when I do see it I recognize it for what it is. But mercy? "It is higher than I, I cannot attain unto it." And so I think I tend to gloss over it - yes, I'm waiting to turn the page and see the other shoe fall, failing to recognize that shoe falling as an act of God's free grace, an act of redemption with mercy sure to follow. Strangely, masochistically, I seem to be more comfortable with wrath... the law and its form of justice is my comfort zone. It's mercy and gospel grace that make me squirm. Surely this is not natural for one born of the Spirit! I am reminded of Paul's words to the Galatians: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" Who, indeed? "Who hindered you...? This persuasion is not from him who calls you." (Gal. 3:1, 5:7-8)

The Psalmist said, "SURELY goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life."

Surely. Now, that's confidence! King David, he knew a lot of hardship. But he also knew his God well enough to attribute to Him only those things that were befitting. David had the right pair of glasses... and he wore them well.

Those are the glasses I'd like to wear today, the ones that help me to see my God of mercy, rising to meet me around every bend in the road. Oh, to expect too see His smiling face instead of the back of His hand. To be a woman after God's own heart, that. very. good. heart. To see like David, the friend of God.

Psalm 100:4-5
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him and speak well of His Name.

For the Lord is good...



This is a back-door way to come into the topic of joy and joyful living, which is another thing I've been spending a lot of time learning about recently. Andree Seu wrote a post today on this topic that goes along nicely with this train of thought. She ends by saying:

"God blesses [a] happy tune. This should not surprise us because, as John Piper says, 'God is most glorified when we are satisfied in Him.'

...King David is aware of the connection betwen joy and witnessing. How better to persuade the world of truth than by our manifest delight in God's salvation?

God's love is a love that is always trying to enfold people. And it is when we are happy in Him that people are attracted to the Truth."

I think sometimes we Christians are afraid to be "happy in Him." We're a bit suspicious of "happy Christians." We're not sure that we're supposed to do that or be like that...

Here is where I would normally put in a parenthesis and explain how "happy" is not necessarily tied to an emotion and it's not faked. There is a season for everything and a time for every purpose under heaven. I might point out the difference between "joy" and "happiness..." a "state of blessedness" being different than "your best life now."

But then that might be giving too much space for my natural tendencies to take root again.

So I'm thinking I need to buy a new set of glasses and wear them constantly for awhile. See what I see. I'll let you know. And if anyone wants to get their own pair, feel free to tell me what your view looks like, as well.

photo: freefoto.com