The Power of Grace
"Grace is power," caught me off balance. I didn't argue with Pastor, but the statement made me think. Walking with my BFF the next morning, we talked about that sermon. What did that mean, grace is power? The ethereal ideal of "grace is the power of God, to become like God" was lovely, but what exactly, did that mean? There was something deeper, elusive in those words ... and I was disappointed the two of us couldn't pinpoint something specific.
For two weeks I wrestled with the concept. "Grace is power." I was missing something, but what? It's like those hidden pictures, where there is art within the art but I couldn't see it.
Two Sabbaths later, the lesson of the paralytic let down through the ceiling snagged my attention. The scribes and Pharisees said,"Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" Jesus answered, "But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" ... (Mk 2:10)
We need authority (power) to forgive sins? That rocked a corner stone of my beliefs. From Matthew through John, the gospels give us so many parables accentuating our need to forgive. I thought forgiveness was something we had to do on our own. It never dawned on me that I needed His power to do it. Somehow the act of forgiveness got separated from accessing the power to accomplish it.
How did that happen?
Grace is the power of God to become like God. How could we ever be like God unless we forgive others? God has modeled it from the first sin onward.
I remember a lesson, years ago, that He taught me about some basic mechanics of forgiveness. A family member betrayed me on an incredibly deep level. I vowed to never forgive her. Years later, I was called to start a children's program for our community. I was excited, until God told me I had to forgive this person first. I had no idea how to go about it; in fact, I'd spent 6-7 years nurturing my bitterness!
"Remember the 70X7," He challenged me. Every time she came to mind, or a pain she caused, all I had to do was say, "I forgive her." Smirking to myself, I agreed. 70X7=490. I can count to 490 - then I'm free to resort to my old ways.
I drove an hour to work every day, then again on my way home. Those two hours were "think time," with this person occupying much of it. I started counting all my, "I forgive her"'s. When I got to 42 (or was it 43?) I started to lose count, so I just gave Him a freebie. That's the last time I remember counting - forgiveness had become so automatic that forgiving her didn't even register in my consciousness anymore. I know I counted more but I don't think I even got past 50, and I was free - free to move on.
Now that is power, the power of grace. Jesus said "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ... " (Matt 16:19) Keys represent authority. How big of a key, how powerful is forgiveness? God has been forgiving us for centuries. I believe it is only in the power of Jesus that we can truly forgive - and become like our Father.
What a gift! Amen!