Grace. You’ve heard the word thrown around in sermons, songs and prayers, but do you really really know it? I contend that you’ll never understand it until you live it.
The two of them stood swaying on the bus. I was lucky enough to hold a seat so I wouldn’t be thrown about by the potholes that the driver went out of his way to hit. I couldn’t help overhearing their conversation as I tried to look away.
One of the men was talking about his life. He spoke of betrayal by a friend, the loss of a relationship and the death of a parent.
“How you holding up, man?” the other asked.
“By God’s grace,” was the reply.
I thought about this conversation all day and of my own life, filled with many of the same stories. My answer has always been a blur of excuse and blame. But I liked what he said.
A word too common
It’s a word used too loosely. The church down on 13th has a sign, “Grace Lutheran Preschool.”
We’ve heard plenty of sermons on grace and some use it as on their signature block on e-mails. John and Sarah named their daughter Grace. I even saw a car with the bumper sticker “Grace Happens.”
But it’s just another word until you’ve lived it.
Photo by Stephen Radford via UnSplash
When one-by-one your friends leave you, for no other reason except your own actions, you have to cling to it. Because that’s all you have.
When your spouse walks out the door, disgust rising from her stomping shoes. And you know she’s right. You can only learn to breathe again by God’s grace.
When your boss slinks into your office on Friday morning with three pieces of paper and wishes you good luck, all you have right then is God’s grace.
When your excuses are stripped away and the spotlight of truth shines on you, there is no other place to run except to His Grace.
When life is upside down and you really have no idea what rightside up looks like, you understand Grace.
Yeah. What he said.
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