Grace in Our Age

"Blessed art Thou, O' Lord, who hast not made me a woman."

                                                 ~ A Prayer of the Pharisee (in the age of Christ)

Sadly, one of the many things I learned while in the pastorate is the fact that the Church is not associated with mercy and grace, but rather judgment and scorn.
This just doesn't seem right.
How can this be?

Interestingly enough, when a person looks to the Gospels, the more unsavory, the more sinful, the more dark a person is or their life has become, the more at ease they seem to feel when they are with Jesus.
The person with a ruined life, heart-broken over a child's death, or the person who is seeking faith; the worst they were, the better Jesus was able to open up their hearts to His Truth.
And knowing this, one question lingers - 'Why isn't the Church this way today?'

One reason is simply because the Body of Christ, in many cases within the local church, have been taken over by men who have succeeded the Pharisees in their role; condemning rather than consoling, concerned about sins of others rather than sacrificing self before the Lord and seeking to walk the impossible path of the Law rather than walking the path of God's Love.

And just like in the time of Christ, these religionists produce an icy response to those who are suffering or hurting in life.

In short, the Church today acts just the opposite of what Christ acted towards those who needed mercy and grace the most.
And what I can't figure out is why more Christians and more Churches don't stop and ask themselves, "Why is it sinners and the lost don't like being around us?'

Well, I've got a guess or two.

You see, the Body of Christ has the greatest gift ever given mankind, grace.
We ought not be hoarding grace but dispensing it like soap in a public restroom.
As one believer put it:

"Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger.'

                                                                                                    ~ C. S. Lewis

The real hurting people, therefore, are not those who we can see, it's those who are covering it up and living seemingly 'normal' lives.
So, not only does the person who obviously needs grace and mercy go without, so does the

one who has convinced himself/herself that they are merciful and graceful.
As a result, those within and without the church, suffer.

A few years back, there was a lot of talk about 'The Kingdom of God' becoming a reality in our churches, homes and life.
The Southern Baptist Convention even had a program called, Empowering Kingdom Growth.
But the problem is, the Church of today is not a very good representation of God's Kingdom; in God's Kingdom, there are no undesirables.
There may be people whose lives have been wrecked at one time, but in the Kingdom they are restored; as the Body of Christ, we should be more into the restoration business than we are as religious wrecking balls.

While on Earth, Jesus Himself went out of His way to show mercy and grace; sometimes with prostitutes, at other times Samaritans and also with tax-collectors.
In His actions during His life, Jesus threatened the religious caste system in Israel; maybe that's why they hated Him and why the Gospels mention over twenty-times the religious leaders conspiring against Jesus.

After His ascension, the early church took root with mixed soil but with one seed, that of the Gospel. 
The men who carried Jesus' message throughout the known world were of vastly different backgrounds, political thought and economic status.
Not so much today.

With each denomination of the Christian faith, there is a stereotype associated with that particular group.
For example, Episcopalians are sometimes referred to by others as 'Whisky-palians;' believing they drink more than anybody else. Baptists are, at times, thought to think that they are the only people going to heaven. Presbyterians - well, they're thought to have lifeless services....and on and on it goes.

But whatever your background and whatever you think of the various denominations, one thing is for certain: there is little resemblance between the modern Christian and the early Church.

The early church were for the most part ostracized from society and at times persecuted and tortured; so, they went to the people who needed to hear the word of Jesus - the hurting, the suffering, the sick and the poor.

In short, people like themselves.

Millions of new Christians came out of the good works of the Church in their sharing of food and clothing; they had to depend on one another, especially since the faith was outlawed at times in the Empire.


Yet, they ministered to one another and to those whom society had forgotten; great gains were made for Christ.

Once the faith was legalized and then became the religion of the Roman Empire, those good works of mercy and grace, in time, went by the wayside.
The church became THE CHURCH, that is to say, it became institutionalized. 
When that happened, the Body of Christ seemed to exist more as a place and system rather than a living Body within the world.

Yet, in the Third World today, the Christian and the Gospel is very different than how we 'do church' in the United States.
The understand that the Christian life is not supposed to be comfortable; Jesus' life was a life of rejection, why should His followers expect anything less?
And let me say this, if a Christian is not experiencing some type of rejection, maybe, just maybe there is a spiritual problem in their life.
Maybe they're not experiencing any type of backlash in life because their life looks too much like the world to be distinguished from those who do not believe.
Friend, as the late Dr. Adrian Rogers use to say, 'The Christian ought to stick out like a diamond in a coal mine.'

Now, most people don't know all facets of pain, suffering or rejection - but Jesus did during His life and is still facing rejection from people today.
Still, the one aspect I have known is suffering because I have been sick with cancer in the past. I have also known emotional suffering through the betrayal of "religious leaders."
In those times, 'why' is not always a question that can be answered; sometimes things are the way that they are and that's the end of the matter.
In it, we must persevere in faith through the tough times and bring glory to His name.

It is, however, appropriate to ask in those times if God really cares; this is at the heart of most people's questions when they are suffering.
It is also the easiest to answer, for it deserves no less than a resounding 'yes.'
Tonight, the Ukraine is being invaded by Putin's Russia; does God care about the deaths, the

suffering and the millions of people trapped in the cross-fire who just want to live their lives and love their families?
The answer is 'yes;' therefore, the question now to be asked is, 'How do we know God cares?'

In Jesus Christ, God gave us a face, a person, a human with compassion, love and mercy; One who embodied all that it means to be God.
In Him and through Him, I know how God feels about tragedy and pain on the Earth.
In Christ, God did not eliminate suffering; in fact, three times in the Gospels human suffering drove Him to tears.

If Jesus wept for those who suffered and over those who died and felt compassion on those who ultimately rejected and crucified Him, then we can deduce fairly well what God thinks of such things.
Personally, I hate Cancer; I believe Jesus Christ does as well because of the pain it brings to the lives of those who suffer through it.

But God did not eradicate the disease nor did He promise a faithful Christian would not get Cancer; instead, God gave me something much greater than a cure to disease - He gave me Himself.
And He does the same to all who will seek Him in love and truth.
But God, with His absolute, infinite power, will never force love.
It must come from a person's own volition. 

In looking to Jesus, I see the Christian I am to be; full of grace and mercy, while at the same time holding to His Gospel and Truth.
In Him, I see that when He faced suffering, He responded as we should - in compassion, grace, mercy and truth; including the truth of forgiveness.

As the Body of Christ, the Church is to be a community for the suffering; in other words, a place where rejects can feel comfortable and find God.

May you and I be the men and women whom God uses to fulfill such a glorious task.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.