Discipleship #8 - Grace (part 2)

In this second part of our entry on grace, I want to expand on the role of forgiveness. As Philip Yancey writes, 

The gospel of grace begins and ends with forgiveness. And people write songs with titles like “Amazing Grace” for one reason: grace is the only force in the universe powerful enough to break the chains that enslave generations. Grace alone melts ungrace.

For a person to encounter God’s grace, they need to first find themselves in a hard place—“the darkest valley,” as Psalm 23 calls it. This often comes when confronted by the horror of their own sin or a sense of hopelessness and despair. At that low point, those who turn to Christ receive God’s forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit (the Comforter) begins to work in the broken heart to bring healing. 

Imagine a young child who is caught by their parent being disobedient. The child realises they’ve been found out and starts bawling their eyes out. The parent then comes to them, puts their arms around them, and asks their child if they are sorry for what they’d done. “Yes,” they say, “I'm so sorry.” And the parent gives them a big hug and tells them they are forgiven and loved. This is what it’s like between God and us when we come to him. 

But grace and forgiveness aren't just about warm feelings. It is a radical lifestyle choice. The spiritual discipline of forgiveness pushes that radicalism to its limits when Jesus commands his disciples to love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-45). Jesus demonstrates enemy love most vividly on the cross when he prays, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Author Rich Villodas writes,

The best measure of spiritual maturity is not how much you know about God but how much you imitate his love toward enemies. There is no narrower path than this. Along this way, difficult as it is at times, lies the deepest satisfaction a soul can ever know. Jesus invites you and me to follow him down the narrow path.

This attitude of grace and forgiveness is to characterise the mature disciple’s whole life (Romans 12:17-21), 

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 

Therefore, forgiveness and grace are spiritual disciplines that require nuance and faith. When someone offends us, we assume incompetence rather than conspiracy. “As far as it depends on us,” we lower our pride and respond humbly. This is not to say that we are required to live with abuse. Sometimes we need to separate ourselves from people for our own psychological or physical safety. Christlike grace does not require us to excuse abuse. But once we are safe, we “leave room for God’s wrath” and trust him to make his own perfect judgment. 

Peter Carolane