The Accidental Pharisee

Monday, June 16, 2008

To Good to be True

"Grace focuses on who God is and what He has done, and takes the focus off ourselves. And yet it's so easy to think we need to do something to earn God's favor, as though God's grace is to good to be true." ~ Charles Swindoll, The Grace Awakening

I often say I don't "get" grace.
I know I've received grace.
I just don't get it.
But I've decided to not say that anymore.
Or, at least, I'm going to try and say that less.
The truth is, I can "get" grace. God did not mean for me to be eternally frustrated by his means of reconciliation, which is grace.
Sure, living out grace may seem like a foreign language to an Accidental Pharisee like me. But, if I can comprehend high school French--and I did--then I can ask God to help me understand his grace. If I can learn sign language--and I did--then I can read the Word and watch others whose lives overflow with grace and come to a better understanding of grace.
I like how Charles Swindoll says, "Grace focuses on who God is and what He has done and takes the focus off ourselves."
I think those are steps 1, 2 and 3 for learning more about grace:
1. Take the focus off me
2. Focus more on God and who He is
3. Focus on what He has done for me.

Just Thinking Out Loud: Accidental Pharisees like to make things harder than they need to be. I don't need to go back to square one and figure out who God is. I've had a relationship with him for years now. He's remained faithful to me through the good and the bad times--and the times when I've been less than faithful to him.
Who is God? He is faithful. What has he done for me? He has loved me despite my Accidental Pharisee-ism, when I've diluted his grace with my "Doesn't-this-make-me-just-a-bit-more-acceptable" efforts.

Who have you discovered God to be? What has he done for you?

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