“There but for the grace of God go I” is something I’ve said when something happens to someone else that could have easily happened to me. It might be an automobile crash with fatalities on a rainy or snowy evening on a road that I’ve driven many times with some anxiety over getting through a treacherous section safely.
“There but for the grace of God go I” – a thanksgiving that we have escaped some harm through God’s intervention in our lives. Unworthy but given freely. Without strings but given with love. Undeserved. Unmerited. Unable to be earned. Grace just is. Given freely whether we like it or not. Given whether we accept it or not.
Paul writes about the grace of God many times in the letters he sent to a variety of churches and communities. He opens his letters to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians and the Ephesians with the phrase: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2). Before Paul got into the meat of the letter, he stopped to remind the community that grace is from God. It is the grace of God enables us to live together as one body and one Spirit understanding that there is one faith, one Lord and one baptism. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to live in unity and peace.
We are called, by God, to discern our gifts and talents, and to use them to build up the realm of God on earth. Each of us is given gifts from God to be used to equip the saints- that’s us!- to build up the ministry, to build up the body of Christ.
“Some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,” Paul tells us in Ephesians Just because your gift is not in this list doesn’t mean you weren’t given a gift to be used for the glory of God. This particular list is being sent to that early group gathered in Ephesus that is struggling to figure out how they are to live now that they have professed Jesus Christ as Lord.
Paul gave another list of gifts, given by the grace of God, when he wrote to the church at Corinth. There he listed gifts as including: deeds of power, of healing, forms of assistance and leadership and various kinds of tongues (1 Cor. 12:28). And in the Letter to the Romans, Paul puts it this way:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully (Rom. 12:6-8). None of us escapes- each of us has been given gifts, through the grace of God that we are to use for the good of the community.
I like the way The Message[1] paraphrases this passage (read from the Message).
Now that we know that we have gifts which are to be used for the good of the community, we are to grow up. We are to “no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery or by their craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14).
“Speaking the truth in love” does not mean that there will never be hurt feelings or disagreements about which way we are to proceed. But speaking the truth in love means even when there are hurt feelings or disagreements, we can hear the truth knowing that the one speaking means what is said to promote peace and unity as a community. Disagreements, when voiced in love, can lead to deeper understandings of where we are going as a community and why. The grace of God surrounds us, always, and enables us to live into the body of Christ which is built upon love.
Grace is defined many different ways. It can be thought of as being pleasing in form or function- we talk about someone being graceful. It can be defined as mercy or clemency in the sense that a convicted criminal is pardoned by the governor’s grace. Martin Luther wrote a lot about God’s grace and how grace impacts us and our relationship with God. He said: This grace of God is a very great, strong, mighty and active thing. It does not lie asleep in the soul. Grace hears, leads, drives, draws, changes, works all in man, and lets itself be distinctly felt and experienced. It is hidden, but its works are evident.[2]
One of my favorite stories about grace came from a school chaplain, born and raised in New York, who was interviewing for a job in Memphis:
The morning of his interview he went to the local breakfast spot near his hotel. He sat at the counter and ordered eggs and bacon, his usual breakfast. The waitress took the order but when she came back, in addition to his eggs and bacon, there was a small dish of something white. He asked her “what’s this?” She responded “that’s grits.” “But I didn’t order grits” he said. “Yes, I know” she said. “But I don’t want them”, he replied in some frustration. “Well, you get them anyway’ she said in a bit of a huff. Now he was really miffed: “Well, I don’t want to pay for them because I didn’t order them”. “Look, sir”, the waitress replied: “they come whether you order them or not. They come whether you eat them or not. But, let me tell you something, they’re pretty good, especially with butter and salt and pepper. It’s up to you- eat them or not. They’re yours.”
Grits are a lot like grace, the chaplain said. Grace is present whether you want it or not. You don’t have to pay for it. You don’t have to order it. Grace just is. God’s gift to us.
Will you eat your grits today? Amen.
[1] Eugene H. Peterson. The Message Remix (Colorado Springs: NavPress Publishing Group, 2006), 1720.