Scandalous Grace

The other morning, as my chaotic life was swirling around me, two words popped into my head... well,  more like were whispered into my ear ....

Scandalous  Grace

The definition of grace....

Mercy

Clemency

Pardon

I am not so good at grace.  I like to throw the word around.  I like to think about the fact that it has been given to me.  But I really do not accept it nor give it very well.

And yet, here it was.  Whispering in my ear.

Scandalous...........Grace........

I cannot hear the words and not think about it.  About the only true scandalous grace the world has ever seen.

Him.  On the cross.  Paying for our sins.

We have all, the whole world, been given mercy, clemency, pardon.  The grace of forgiveness is right there waiting for us.  Offered freely.

Romans 5:8 

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

But this whispering was not so much about me living in that grace myself (that is  a WHOLE other blog post).  It was about me offering what was freely given to me.  

But for who?

That was easy.  My children.  I can be very hard on them  I expect a lot from them.  I spend much of my time functioning in a world of works based salvation.  My heart knows that is not at all what God has given us - see the above verse - but my head.  That never stop thinking part of my body.  It gets so caught up in the day to day.  The here and now.  It gets caught up in what I deserve.  I have done....(insert all the things a mother does) and I DESERVE... respect, love, obedience.

Ironic that God, who created us, who provides for us, does not expect nor demand the same from us.  He just loves us.  He is Holy and perfect and so we cannot be in His presence due to our imperfect sin.  But he did not demand we get there on our own.  He knew we never could.  Instead He just gave it to us.  He gave us the mercy, the clemency, the pardon we did not deserve nor could ever earn.  Grace.  He gave us grace.  And that is why it is scandalous.

WHO DOES THAT?

Not me.  Not ever.    I let everyone know that I am the better person, that I have been wronged and eventually, when you have said you are sorry enough, in a way that truly displays your remorse and repentance, I will forgive you.  But I hold a grudge.  It rests underneath, simmering until you do something else and then I bring it back up.

But scandalous grace?  It forgives you before you have even finished doing whatever it is you have done.  It forgives you completely and forever.  There are no take backs.  This is what God has done for us.  It is amazing.  It is complete.  And it is completely freeing of all the crazy in this world.

So that voice.  Whispering.  That Holy Spirit guiding.  Telling me, forgive your children before they deserve it.  Just show them mercy.  NO.  MATTER. WHAT.

Deep sigh.  This is going to be hard.  Because like I said, I do not readily accept that grace in my own life and if I do not accept it in my own life, I certainly cannot offer it to others.  So that is where I am.  God has spoken to me.  He has given me guidance.  He knows what will free me.  And now, I must learn to follow.  To recognize what has been given me and live in it.  And once I live in it.  Once I fully accept it for myself?  There, there I will find the scandalous grace that overflows into the lives of my children.

This is the journey I am on.  I hope to get back to blogging regularly and chronicle it here.  I will fail.  A lot.  But that is what makes this grace so scandalous.  No matter how many times I fail, it will still be there.