Dispensers of God's Grace

"Let justice roll down like a river; and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

                                                                                  ~The Prophet Amos

When a person is hurt over a series of events or years, I have found that the pain never really and truly goes away; layer simply accumulate.

We learn to live with injuries committed against us.
We move on.
We move away.
We remove individuals from our lives.

Sometimes, we even remove ourselves from entire congregations and churches.

But the pain which was caused, the injury which was done - it remains.
Deep down, it remains and never goes away; like a river cutting though a gorge, it deepens.

Maybe that's why the hero of Jesus' parables was always the most unlikely person in the story.
Or maybe it is because they are the people who need grace.

You see, the people who most need grace are not the 'good church member' who thinks they are too proper and righteous to be damned for their sin.
No...these are those who believe the right things, do the right things, go through all the motions; but in their entire 'Christian' vocabulary cannot string the letters together to spell 'love.'

We must remember, it was the good church crowd that crucified Christ.

In the paintings, there are always people at the foot of the cross; ever wonder what they were saying to each other as Jesus gasped for air?


I've often thought that they said to one another, 'Well, if He wasn't guilty, they wouldn't have crucified Him.'


How bad do you think those words and thoughts wounded the Lord?

I've heard the same said about pastors who wouldn't defend themselves; words spoken by people who claimed to love him and his family.

You know, when a person is betrayed, the injury which remains isn't the actual act - its the prelude deception and it is what people assume afterwards.
The broken relationships and deception eat away at your soul at times if you let it.

Grace comes to the those most willing to receive it and it is usually those who are holding out open hands because they've nowhere else to turn.
God responds to those open hearts and open hands by filling them.

How I wish more Christians, including myself, would seek to be the vessel which God would choose to use in filling the empty hands of others who are seeking His blessing in hope.

This week I was contacted by several members of a church I once served.
The conversation soon turned to an anonymous letter which these two particular families had received. The letter concerned the direction of the church and its leadership since I left.

I did not receive this letter, although it was complimentary towards the ministry which God did through me while serving there.
The letter quoted numbers, gave examples, and chastised the people who made it difficult on me and whom I feel betrayed me and the church itself.
But I was a bit bewildered when it was read to me.

I don't know who wrote the letter but two things stood out for me personally.

First, like the church officers who no longer wanted me to serve, the author of the letter fails to understand the nature of what a pastor is and does.
A pastor's responsibility is NOT to make a church grow numerically; if a person wants to see that kind of growth, turn on the television and see what some of the electronic ministers are preaching. It's near heresy.

Rather, Scripture has one mandate for a pastor - 'feed my sheep.'
That means a pastor should be far more concerned about spiritual growth than numerical growth; if a church does not understand this from the outset, the minister is on borrowed time.

The second thing that stood out in the anonymous letter was the pure honesty and frankness about it.
Truthfully, I have no clue as to some of the claims; I haven't kept track of my former church. I'm

pastoring a base of 1,100+ Airmen and have little time for trivial matters.
But whoever wrote that letter was hurt by what happened when I left; they seem to want justice to be done in such an unjust situation. 

If they are reading these words, remember that the only way to bring justice to the world is to convert those who oppress.
The problem of what happened to me or even current leadership - it is a heart problem and Christ must first heal the heart before anything else can take place.

Trust me, the only way a person can help others solve their heart problem is by being a dispenser of God' grace.

To be sure, I am a lightening rod at times; when a person is treated wrongly, especially when someone I love is hurt or injured, I want justice.
I want someone or something to step in and make things right.

Well, God did that very thing; Jesus died for such injustices and pain.
He didn't die to solve the broken heart, the shattered pieces; Jesus died for the person who betrayed his pastor; He died for the person who broke the heart. He died for the one who shattered good people's lives out of a personal vendetta. 

On the other hand, Jesus will help and heal those who have been injured, hurt and betrayed when they come to Him, not in anger demanding judgment; but in their pain asking for peace.
And when we ask for that peace, while we may never forget what happened, God brings people into our lives to minister to us in grace, He calms our racing minds, and He does bring a close to one ministry and opens another.

All of which was know to God ever before the unrighteous even thought about coming against us.
Remember that!

A few years ago, I read a story about the end of apartheid (South Africa's segregation laws) and I want to share it here because I truly believe it says something about the power of grace.

When Nelson Mandela came to power in South Africa, he had to deal with years and years of atrocities against blacks by the minority whites.
Historically, what normally happens is when one group takes power, they go on the same rampage of killing, torture and rape as their former oppressors engaged in.
Mandela absolutely refused to allow this to happen.

Instead, Mandela began what was called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
This Commission would hear cases and hand out justice and judgment on all atrocities brought before it in court.
The world watched, and waited.

Mostly, the world wanted to see what would happen because the Commission wasn't offering retribution, torture or pain in return for pain.
It's goal was reconciliation of the two races.
Would that be in name only or would it be in reality?

One particular case involved this one man who was a police officer; but now he didn't hold the power, he was the one on trial before the Commission.
This man had shot an 18-year old boy and then burned the boy's body on a spit, similar to how a fraternity might roast a pig.
Eight years later, the same man returned to the same house and seized the boy's father; poured gasoline on him, placed him in a woodpile and burned him to death.

The man now faced the boy's widowed mother before the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.

First, the man was required to gather the dust of the two men so that there could be some type of a proper burial.
But what happened next is beyond what anyone could have possibly imagined.

The man was ordered to go to the woman's house, at her request, twice a month and visit her in the slums where she lived.
Her explanation was simply that this man had taken her family from her, she still had a lot of love to give; therefore, he must now act as her surrogate family and son until one of them died.

At this, the courtroom broke out singing, 'Amazing Grace.'
But this man never heard it; when he heard the verdict, he was so overcome and overwhelmed by grace that he fainted.

I write these words to say this:

Though I have my days where the pain of the past rises to a boiling point within my heart and mind, as I am sure everyone does who has been betrayed and hurt by people they love, to allow the pain and anger to control us instead of God's work within us doesn't make sense.

You see, we desire justice.
But Grace is needed more than Justice.

Therefore, if you really want to be 'Christ-like' as the name 'Christian' implies, then you and I are to be dispensers of God's grace and leave Him as the dispenser of justice.

You see, Jesus didn't offer theological proofs.
Jesus didn't argue with those who were dead set against Him.

Instead, He transformed lives by mercy, forgiveness and grace.
And if we are faithful to Him, we can do the same.


Until next time, go win one for the good guys.