Louise Avant
God's promise arrives as pure gift.
That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the
religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. Romans
4:16 (The Message)
"I will be your God and you will
be My people. Follow Me every step of the way into life that is good." But
they didn't trust Me. They didn't obey My voice. They refused to listen to Me.
Instead they followed the plans of their own stubborn hearts. Each step was a
step backward, not forward. I have shown them the way to a better life. But did
any of them listen or pay attention? Did they change their ways? No, they only
hardened their resolve to go their own way. Jeremiah
8:23b-26a (The Voice)
"God's promise arrives as pure
gift."
Wow! That is an amazing statement.
We are saved by grace, not by works,
not by acting good, not by looking good; just by being God's child.
And who is God’s
child?
Every person - all people, all races,
all genders, all sexual orientations, all ages, all nationalities, all economic
stations, all physical and mental abilities, all addicts, all people, all
people, all people.
God's blessings belong not to those
who perfectly obey the law (as though that were even possible), but to those
who in faith accept God's free gift of forgiveness. I have spent a lot of time
in what I call "judging mode." That is where I compare myself
to others: is my fat percentage higher or lower than that person, is my hair
grayer than another, is my garden greener, my house smaller, my faith bigger?
And to what end? Thank goodness God doesn't sit around wondering which one of
his children is cuter, better, more generous or faithful. God loves each of us,
God gifts each of us, God graces each of us, God forgives each of us, God gave
his Son to each of us.
So why don't we listen? Why don't we
change?
Because it's hard.
It's easier to go it alone, to judge
ourselves and others, to grasp hold tightly, to wander in the wilderness.
Being a believer in the 12 steps from
AA and what they can do for my life, I have been through the steps at least
three times. Each time I found that I had 'slipped', taken a step backward,
needing to listen, to change, to follow the steps. Acknowledging God's
presence, asking for help from God and giving myself to God to take over my
life, laying out my sins and asking for forgiveness from all I hurt, continuing
to look at my sins day by day and asking others on the journey to help me,
helping others on their path...not turning away, turning towards...
In this season of Lent, I think it's
time again for me to pause and listen.
Will you accept God's free grace?
Will you listen? Will you change your ways?
Louise Avant is the Minister of Music and Worship at First Austin.
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