The Grace of God
Eph.1:6 - To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved.
God's grace. Every definition is wanting and only "touches the hem of the garment" of what the grace of God is. Unmerited favor? Yes, but that really only puts a file drawer tab on it. The grace of God is not only the everyday earthenware of the believers experience, but it is also the fine china; not just the work clothes, but also the tuxedo; understood by a child and yet confounding the theologian.
A certain Farmer owns 200 acres of land on which he grows corn. His farm is in the middle of an area of very high unemployment, and he hires the entire city to help him with his corn. The Farmer provides food, clothing and housing for his laborers as well as paying them good salaries. The Farmer treats all his laborers very well.
God's grace. Every definition is wanting and only "touches the hem of the garment" of what the grace of God is. Unmerited favor? Yes, but that really only puts a file drawer tab on it. The grace of God is not only the everyday earthenware of the believers experience, but it is also the fine china; not just the work clothes, but also the tuxedo; understood by a child and yet confounding the theologian.
A certain Farmer owns 200 acres of land on which he grows corn. His farm is in the middle of an area of very high unemployment, and he hires the entire city to help him with his corn. The Farmer provides food, clothing and housing for his laborers as well as paying them good salaries. The Farmer treats all his laborers very well.
Now the Farmer has one thing that means more to him than all his land, corn, equipment, or all his wealth. The Farmer has a child, a son, who he is completely devoted to and he makes his son the sole heir of his estate. All goes well for the Farmer and his farm, and every year his laborers prosper.
One year comes and the crop seems to be especially full and the harvest will yield triple the usual amount. Everyone is excited and the Farmer walks down to the laborer's dwellings and informs them that he will triple their salaries this year and he is going to build them new and beautiful houses for them and their families. All the laborers rejoice and express their deep gratitude for the Farmer.
Now after the Farmer leaves and returns to his house the laborers begin to complain among themselves. They all wonder that after they had worked the fields themselves, why they shouldn't split the entire profit. They know that the legal heir to the entire estate is the Farmer's son, and it so infuriates them that they devise a plan to kill the son. So that same night they all sneak around the Farmer's house, go into the house and tape the Farmer's son's mouth shut, tie him up, and bring him outside. They all then take turns stabbing him with knives, machetes, and pitch forks. All night long they mutilate the son's body and run back to their houses at dawn. In the morning the Farmer comes out of the house for a walk and he comes across this dead body which is so mutilated he doesn't even recognize who it is.
The Farmer runs back into his house and goes straight to his son's bedroom and sees that his son is not there. He realizes the horrible truth, his only son has been murdered. He runs down to where his laborers live and sees all of them standing together, bloodied and defiant. With a broken heart he asks them why they would do such a thing, but the laborers only mocked him. Incredibly, the Farmer refuses to press charges. Now that is mercy.
One year comes and the crop seems to be especially full and the harvest will yield triple the usual amount. Everyone is excited and the Farmer walks down to the laborer's dwellings and informs them that he will triple their salaries this year and he is going to build them new and beautiful houses for them and their families. All the laborers rejoice and express their deep gratitude for the Farmer.
Now after the Farmer leaves and returns to his house the laborers begin to complain among themselves. They all wonder that after they had worked the fields themselves, why they shouldn't split the entire profit. They know that the legal heir to the entire estate is the Farmer's son, and it so infuriates them that they devise a plan to kill the son. So that same night they all sneak around the Farmer's house, go into the house and tape the Farmer's son's mouth shut, tie him up, and bring him outside. They all then take turns stabbing him with knives, machetes, and pitch forks. All night long they mutilate the son's body and run back to their houses at dawn. In the morning the Farmer comes out of the house for a walk and he comes across this dead body which is so mutilated he doesn't even recognize who it is.
The Farmer runs back into his house and goes straight to his son's bedroom and sees that his son is not there. He realizes the horrible truth, his only son has been murdered. He runs down to where his laborers live and sees all of them standing together, bloodied and defiant. With a broken heart he asks them why they would do such a thing, but the laborers only mocked him. Incredibly, the Farmer refuses to press charges. Now that is mercy.
But the Farmer walks back to his house and into his bedroom. He reaches under the bed and pulls out his strongbox. As he unlocks it and lifts the lid he sees his will. The Farmer brings it over to his desk and takes out a pen. He now changes his will to include all his murderous laborers, if they wish. He takes his will and walks down to the laborers and he reads his new will to them out loud. Everyone hears.
"You see", the Farmer explained, "all of you now own this farm with me, if you will just sign this will to make it legal". Some signed immediately, some hesitated but then signed, some didn't believe the Farmer, some weren't listening, some said they could own it without him, some put it off indefinitely, and some still mocked him. The Farmer turned to walk back to his big farmhouse.
"You see", the Farmer explained, "all of you now own this farm with me, if you will just sign this will to make it legal". Some signed immediately, some hesitated but then signed, some didn't believe the Farmer, some weren't listening, some said they could own it without him, some put it off indefinitely, and some still mocked him. The Farmer turned to walk back to his big farmhouse.
As the Farmer turned, he loudly said, "Everyone that signed my will, follow me".
"Where are we going?", asked the new heirs.
"You will now live in my house with me, always", said the Farmer.
As they reached the front door the new heirs could only cry and say, "Thank you, Mr. Farmer".
The Farmer turned around to all of them and said, "Do not call me Mr. Farmer anymore, call me - Father".
God's grace...unbelievable
The Farmer turned around to all of them and said, "Do not call me Mr. Farmer anymore, call me - Father".
God's grace...unbelievable
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3 comments:
I have avoided comment on this because of how uncomfortable it made me feel. The grahpic description of hate and the farmer's apparently cavalier attitude towards the murderers was revolting.
As I pondered my sins and the grace of God poured out on the cross, I admitted Rick's story made sense. Seeing another write-up about Jeffrey Dahmer today made me fully realize that Rick's story is a lot closer to the Truth than I would care to admit. I don't like to see myself as a ruthless murderer.
But I must - for the Bible says that "while I was His enemy, Christ died for me." Praise God, Christ died for me! Because He also tells us, through Paul, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing".
Press on, PTL Rick. Tell it like it is, not as we would want to hear it.
Thank you for the encouraging words, Stuart.
At times our hearts want to push grace away because we feel that we don't deserve it... and we don't! We can never do anything to earn it... That's why it's grace... God's unfathomable goodness!!!
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