Grace frees me to be the child that I am and to ask my Father for help. (John Kleinig)
What is
grace?
Grace: unmerited, unearned, undeserved
favor of God.
Grace, given through Jesus Christ, to sinners, even me.
Grace frees me.
Grace frees us.
Grace frees us to be
honest.
I have found that I waste entirely too
much energy trying to hide my weaknesses, trying to make myself seem better or
holier or stronger than I actually am.
Being honest, brutally honest, is
terrifying, and I think it is so terrifying that it would be impossible…but,
God:
But God, being rich in mercy,
because of the
great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our
trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ—
by grace you have
been saved— (Ephesians 2:4-5)
That acceptance I want? That security I want?
That approval from God? I
already have it in Christ.
I am fully known and fully loved. I do not have to hide any
more. I do not have to downplay my weaknesses and exaggerate my strengths. I do
not have to waste energy contorting my body and my spirit to make myself
perfect, or to appear perfect.
And neither do you, dear Christian.
“Our justification does not depend on
our piety and our spiritual performance but on Christ and His performance. We
can therefore face up to our recurring failure to live as His holy people and
people of prayer. In fact, our failure Is meant to teach us to ask for what we
lack and receive everything from Christ.”(Grace Upon Grace, Kleinig, p. 39)
----
When Jesus says, "Let the little children come," may we hear and know that we are included in that invitation! The little people inside us, the scared children that we try to hide under adult costumes, they are welcome! In God's presence, we are free to be small, dirty, whiney, messy. He welcomes us as we are and takes us on his lap and teaches us to simply BE in his presence, small, and so very loved.
Praise be to God,
who loves and welcomes children,
who loves and welcomes us.
Amen.