Exodus 20:1-17
And G-d spoke all these words: "I am the Lord your G-d, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your G-d, am a jealous G-d, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your G-d, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your G-d. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your G-d is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbors house. You shall not covet your neighbors wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
THOUGHTS:
Responsible Grace - the grace of G-d is a grace that requires a response. It's not cheap grace - grace that allows us to live however we want bringing death and pain. It's not that. The grace of G-d is indeed a free gift that he willing gives to us, but it is also a grace that requires a faithful response. This grace comes so that we might be a light to the world. This grace comes to change us, mold us, refine us to be agents of the Kingdom of G-d. It's a grace that comes straight to our heart and calls us to account. The "punishing the children for the sin of the fathers" isn't about physical punishment or G-d giving people what they deserve. The Hebrew word used means to call into account. G-d holds us accountable for our actions to the 3rd and 4th generations of those we've affected by our actions. What I do today matters to my children, my grand children, and my great grandchildren and even beyond. The grace of G-d requires a response that brings us to come under accountability to his ways and will. We don't get to go out and murder people (both figuratively and literally) and then say "G-d will forgive me." Will he? I believe the grace of G-d is so big he would; however, that completely misses the point of grace. We accept the grace of G-d and come under account to him. This grace changes our heart to respond to his ways and we begin to see that his way is a way of life and we honor it. His way is a way of lifting up others so they might find and recognize the same grace that we have been given. This is a heart issue. The grace of G-d is not cheap. It comes at a cost.
ACTION:“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Forgive me Lord for the ways that I have dishonored your grace, for the ways that I have made it cheap. The very act treating your grace lightly is a making an idol of you, it's misusing your name and you. Father, I have sinned in this thing. Let my response to your grace be ever faithful. Let my heart be forever changed by your grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment