Forgiven and Full of Grace

Good morning. Your mother messed up. The reunion is at...

That was the text I sent out just hours before a family reunion. No big deal, right? We all mess up. Really nothing to forgive. But there are those times... You know the ones. We say something we can't take back or do something that will remain part of the annals of history forever. Sort of like Simon Peter. Have you ever noticed Peter's failures and foibles pepper the pages of the New Testament. Even after the sting of Jesus' rebuke had become a lesson learned, even after the serene and beautiful tableau of restoration in John's Gospel, Peter still can't catch a break. Peter's offenses become headline news again when, in his letter to Galatia, Paul says Peter "played the hypocrite" and Paul called him on it. (Galatians 2:11-20) We don't read anything of Peter's response, but he wrote extensively of grace in his letters. 

Grace and forgiveness are gifts I believe we radically undervalue and underestimate. I have just seriously begun plumbing the depths of both of these, but here are just a couple things I've discovered so far:

-- To allow oneself to be forgiven is to surrender to the power of the one who has been offended; it is to make oneself vulnerable, to ask for mercy or at least, to admit one is in need of it. It bears the responsibility of never committing the offense again, not necessarily because there will be punishment and not necessarily because of consequences, though those are persuasive elements; but because the one offended is even lovelier and more precious to the offender than before because of their mercy and forgiveness. There is an aspect of this person's character not necessarily seen or experienced before, and it is alluring and humbling to those who truly seek reconciliation. The alternative is to go off in anger and bitterness, dissolve the relationship, and discard anything of previous worth or potential worth. To not submit to forgiveness is the death of a dream.

-- Grace is not some sweet, gentle gift extended by a milquetoast God sitting in Heaven hoping someone will pay some attention to Him. Grace was diligently sought for by prophets of old, educated men who took seriously the promises of God. Why would they seek something of little significance or power? The grace that is to come is strong enough to do the heavy lifting of all my hopes, and yours, and the person sitting next to you, and your great-great grandchildren and their children who don't exist yet! Grace is limited only by the God who created the poodle moth and the goblin shark (look them up); as creative as our God, His grace is as multi-faceted. He will never run out of ways to show you His grace!

And whether your offenses are kept to something as commonplace as bad directions in a closed text or are spread across the internet like six-week old Tik-Toks, in Christ forgiveness and grace are yours. They are weapons of hope and healing and power. They give strength to relationships and deepen our connections. They achieve the impossible. They transformed the impulsive, sometimes brash Simon Peter into the apostle and saint who was fundamental in the establishment of the Church and zealous even in death. They can transform us as well.