Who doesn’t love a come from behind win for the underdog? Well, not if it’s against your team, but in general? Like Loyola Chicago making it to the Final Four. I wanted to see them succeed. Same is true of an Olympian, or a singer on the Voice who has overcome adversity. It’s easy to be for them.
But that all changes if the team plays dirty, or the athlete or singer is rude. We like them only as long as they are worthy. On a dime our loyalty turns if they no longer deserve our support. And that’s true not just of teams and competitors, but anyone, right?
I’ve been thinking about this because of what it communicates about our understanding of grace. Or, maybe I should say the lack thereof.
Grace is God’s goodness to the guilty. It is freely given to those who don’t deserve it. And that we have a problem with.
We don’t want those who don’t deserve grace to get it. But we also often don’t see that our “little” sins, self-righteousness, pride and lack of love condemns us in just the same way as someone else’s more blatant sin.
People who don’t know how much they need grace, refuse to give grace. And this is why Christians can often be such a judgemental bunch.
But when we see how much we too, do not deserve God’s goodness, it changes how we think about sinners, like those. The ones who have done things that in our books are unforgivable. These are the ones Jesus sought after and redeemed. Not because they finally got it all together, or showed they were sorry enough over their sin. No, he extended grace, and his grace is what changed them. We see this in accounts throughout the gospels, like when the woman left her jar at the well and ran to tell others about Him.
People who get grace, give grace. And people in need of grace need people who will show them grace because of the weight of guilt, shame and sin. If we condemn and judge we only heap on more shame. But when we move toward them in compassion, we embody the grace of God.
This does not mean we overlook or excuse their sin. No, what people need to know in their shame and sin is the good news of the gospel of Christ. The news of the One who sees them in their sin and moves toward them anyway. The One who gives a clean slate not because they deserve it but because He earned it for them. He lived the perfect life and gives us his record. He took our sin and shame onto himself. He was our Shame-eater. This is the gospel of grace.
People become hardened by shame. People are transformed by grace.
Who do you know who needs a friend to move toward them in grace? If no one comes immediately to mind, keep your eyes open and be ready. Opportunities abound everyday to extend grace to someone undeserving.
