The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

My dad has always loved the topic of “grace.” When I was younger, I never really understood why he liked it so much. Yeah, grace is cool and all, but the topic I’ve always loved is “love.” That was what originally sold me to the whole Christianity thing - the fact that God loves me. All of me. The good, the bad, and the ugly. 

And (although it shouldn’t have been hard to miss this after years of going to Sunday school), it took a while for me to recognize and understand that the topic of “love” is so closely tied to the topic of “grace.”

It takes mad love to have grace.

Ever try having grace with someone who did you dirty? Or with someone who wasn't even sorry for hurting you? 

Or has there ever been a time in your life where you have received grace even when the other person had every reason to be mad or hold something against you?

Those things take a whole lot of love. 

It’s so hard to fully grasp the concept of grace. To be honest, karma registers better, because it’s all about getting what you deserve. 

Grace is the opposite of that.

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve, and not getting what you do deserve.

Most people, even if they haven’t grown up in Christian circles, have at least heard of John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Since I grew up in church, that verse had been so over-stated that it kind of lost its weight.

...Until last Easter.

Last Easter, I was sitting at my church’s Easter production and got this crazy revelation of grace. There had been so many things I walked into the church with - hurt, a lot of bitterness, a little bit of anger, shame from past mistakes, insecurities, doubt, and just a whole lot of mess.

As I sat and watched the production, it all seemed so real. So real that it made me feel like I was actually there watching Jesus die on the cross.

And that's when it hit me just HOW MUCH He loves us.

John 3:16 regained its weight, and I was not just met with His love, but His grace too. 

He doesn’t JUST accept us as we are. He went one step further and took on our bad and ugly. He paid the price for us so we didn’t have to. So that we would be free. So that we wouldn’t have to wear our sin, shame, and pain. So that we can have a life that doesn’t lead to death. And He did that without having a guarantee that we’d even choose to believe or trust in Him.

If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.

What REALLY trips me up is that He didn’t just do it for all the so-called “good” people in the world. He didn’t just do it for you and the people you love. He did it for everyone. That includes those who have hurt you, left you, betrayed you, used you, played you, etc. 

In God's eyes, there is no person too "bad" or sin too ugly.

Grace evens out the playing field, and man, I'm so thankful that it does. 

Because if we’re really honest with ourselves, we all have things that mark us - sins that we wrestle with, the hurt we’ve caused people, the hurt people have caused us, residue of bitterness or unforgiveness, unkind words we’ve spoken, things people have said to or about us, insecurities, fears, etc.

I want you to know that because God loves you so much, He wants to take away all the things that mark you and replace it with His grace.

A marking is a visible impression of something, sometimes for identification purposes.

You are not marked by your mess.

You no longer have to identify yourself by your sins or your struggles or the things people have done to you.

You are marked by His grace so you can walk in true freedom as a forgiven & loved child of God.

"He used his body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls."

(1 Peter 2:24-25 MSG)