We started our series this last Sunday on Psalm 23, called "Cry Out to Jesus" - remember my challenge to read Psalm 23 once a day for the next 4 weeks as we study this much quoted, much loved psalm in depth and unpack what God wants to teach us as a church and as individuals.
I read a blog post this week that I'd like to share with you - it's from Vince Antonucci's blog that you can find here - excerpt below:
"In “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” Philip Yancey tells the unfortunately true story about a time a woman went to see a counselor in Chicago and she explained that she was a drug addict. In fact, she had prostituted herself and her two year old baby daughter to get money to support her habit. She had hit rock bottom. The counselor didn’t know what to say. Finally, he asked her, “Have you thought of going to a church for help?” He said, “I’ll never forget the look of shock on her face as she said, ‘Church! Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse!’” — When you read the gospels you find that people like this woman, the very “worst of sinners,” were drawn to Jesus. Why? I think it’s because He didn’t make them feel worse, He made them feel loved. And He knew this secret that somehow the church has lost. It’s that love is what turns a life around. The way to change a life is not through pointing out or judging someone’s sin, but through love. That’s why messed up, sinful people were attracted to Jesus – because of His love. But today people don’t associate Christians and church with love and grace, but instead judgment and condemnation.
And that’s so sad, because the one thing the church should major in is grace and because the world thirsts for grace. People thirst for grace, but grace is unique to our God and to Christianity, and so when churches don’t offer it, it’s just not available. And since it’s unavailable from the church, the world has replaced grace with the cheap substitute of tolerance. Tolerance is a substitute for grace. And it’s ironic, because uptight Christians get all angry and freaked out about how our world is too tolerant, but the reason it’s all into tolerance is because of those uptight Christians who aren’t offering grace. Without grace available, the world had to quench its thirst with something, and tolerance is the closest it can come to grace."
I want Southview to continue to be a place where grace is found and offered. We know that each of us who have become Christ-followers have received more grace than we could imagine or deserve, and we are called to share that grace with others. This was a great reminder to me to be a "grace wholesaler" - offering God's grace in bulk to a world that desperately needs to know that they are loved and valued by God and His people.
Today, let's show the love of our Shepherd - the grace that we have received - to folks who are living far from God. Let's make it real for them. Let's not allow them to settle for the world's sad, shallow substitute for grace - let's show them the real thing.
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